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Tag: SECO News December 2017

SECO News, December 2017

 

Duncan’s Digest

United We Live & Give

 

It’s time to bid farewell to 2017 and welcome 2018 as the Christmas and New Year’s holidays approach. Dreaming of a white Christmas in Florida is probably a long-shot, but with the help of our charitable SECO employees, dreaming of a giving Christmas is a reality. SECO employees, myself included, renewed their commitment to local communities through their generous pledges to United Way in the new year.

 

SECO Newsletter Duncan's Digest United We Live and Give

 

SECO employees pledged $52,214 for United Way’s 2018 Live United campaign. Every dollar contributed by SECO employees is used to endow service programs that benefit the residents in the counties we serve and in our footprint. Much of the funding is locally designated by each employee to the agency of their choice and administered through United Way. Yearly, 61 million people across the world benefit from the programs and services funded by the United Way.

 

SECO United Way Fundraising GoalEvery penny makes a difference. Would you like your small change to make a difference in your community? Enroll in SECO’s Pennies from Heaven program and round up your monthly bill to the nearest dollar. Every penny collected through Pennies from Heaven is distributed locally to directly benefit SECO members. The donated funds may be used to purchase emergency medical supplies, support charitable organizations or provide bill payment assistance to your fellow members experiencing dire and unique circumstances. Enroll online or give us a call.

 

To learn more about United Way, find a volunteer opportunity or to be connected with a local agency, visit www.UnitedWay.org.

 

I couldn’t be prouder of our employees’ goodwill toward others, and I am grateful to work with employees who care about our members and our communities. I applaud our employees’ generous spirit with their promise of $52,214 to support United Way’s 2018 campaign. This giving spirit reflects the very essence of our not-for-profit electric cooperative business model.

 

May peace, love and prosperity follow you all through the year. From our SECO family to yours, I wish you a Merry Christmas and all the best in the new year.

 

Jim Duncan
Chief Executive Officer

 

SECO Claus Delivers: Toys for Tots 2017

 

Toys for Tots — “SECO Claus Delivers”

 

In early November, it began to feel a lot like Christmas as hundreds of SECO employees performed the role of Santa Claus for SECO’s yearly toy drive. SECO chooses to support the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program which collects new, unwrapped toys and distributes them as Christmas gifts to local children in need who live in the communities we serve.

 

The halls were decked, and Christmas joy and cheer were present at all SECO locations. Our perpetually generous employees donated hundreds of toys for needy children in Sumter, Lake, Marion and Citrus Counties. Each of our five Member Service Centers were open to the public as local Toys for Tots drop-off locations, and many charitable SECO members donated toys as well.

 

As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, SECO adheres to the seven key cooperative principles – one of which is Concern for Community. SECO employees personally demonstrate their Concern for Community by volunteering their time and supporting community involvement projects in their areas. Our employees give generously during the Christmas season to the Toys for Tots toy drive and the United Way as referenced on the front page.

 

Employees donned their Santa hats, and smiled for the camera while displaying the toys gathered across the cooperative. The toys collected through Toys for Tots will bring joy to thousands of local children who will wake up to presents under the tree on Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas!

 

SECO Energy Toys for Tots

 

Read the full December 2017 SECO News here.

 

Nature’s Reflections – Whooping Crane

This large bird still on the endangered species list

The whooping crane (Grus americana), is named for its unique trumpet-like call that can be heard for several miles. It is North America’s largest bird, standing 45 to 50 inches tall with a wingspan of 90 inches. Mature birds are pure white with black wing tips, dark legs, a long neck, a long, dark, pointed bill and a bumpy red crown. The bumpy red patch on the head, a trait shared with the close relative sandhill crane, serves to indicate the bird’s mood – becoming bright and expanded when agitated or excited. Whooping cranes and sandhill cranes are the only two cranes found in North America.

 

Whooping cranes are one of the most beautiful birds and one of the rarest. This endangered species once wintered in Florida, but habitat loss virtually wiped out most of its population. The birds were on the verge of extinction and a concerted effort has been ongoing since the 1990s to bring them back. Florida’s small whooping crane population is now mostly non-migratory.

 

Nature's Reflections Whooping Crane quote

 

A project to restore the migratory whooping crane began in 2001. Each winter, captive-raised and released whooping cranes are led by ultra-light aircraft from Wisconsin to Florida. The idea of the project is that once these birds are taught the north-to-south migration route, the birds will continue to make the journey on their own.

 

Whooping cranes mate for life, but will take a new mate if one dies. Whoopers live 22 to 24 years in the wild. Sexes are similar in appearance, although males are larger – weighing about 16 pounds. Nests are usually built over standing water and pairs return to nest in the same area each year. Females lay two blotchy, olive-colored eggs in late April to May. Incubation takes 30 days. Within twenty-four hours of hatching, the pale brown chicks leave the nest to follow the parents. Both parents care for the young. The young stay with the parents for a year, learning to forage for seeds and roots, insects, snakes, frogs and small rodents. They can fly at three months, and have their full adult plumage by the end of the second summer. At five years they are ready to choose a mate and begin a family.

 

To learn more about the ongoing migratory project, visit www.bringbackthecranes.org.

 

Column & photos by Sandi Staton – sandi.staton@gmail.com

 

Read the full Nature’s Reflections article in the December 2017 SECO News.