On December 3, Hernando’s Board of County Commissioners met for a regular meeting to discuss and vote on various policies. At the start of the 10-plus hour proceedings, representatives from the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative came forward to present a check to the board for $155,827.33.
“This is really one of the best things we get to do all year,” said Gary Steele, Manager of Member Relations, WREC. “It’s a big part of what a co-op is all about. Our investors, they’re not on Wall Street. They’re on Main Street. We’re a billion-dollar company with a Main Street front door, and we’re right here. All of our employees live and work right in this community. […] It brings me with great pleasure and honor to present to you this check for a little over $155 thousand to Hernando County.”
Not only do they work and live in Hernando, but their members volunteer with baseball teams, churches, the Scouts, you name it. Earlier this year, the Sun covered the installation of a lighting system at Ernie Weaver Park. The WREC was actually responsible for this and other such projects at Anderson Snow Park, and these locations are not in the cooperative’s grid, either.
Despite all of the challenges caused by the ever-changing Florida weather, they were proud to present the massive check (literally and figuratively) back to the board and thus the people.
Even with costs associated with their industry doubling or even tripling, Steele and company were still able to return a total of $23.2 million back to their membership this year alone. Across the totality of their endeavors, Withlacoochee has given approximately $506 million back to the
community.
“I just wanted to say, personally, thank you,” Commissioner Brian Hawkins said. “I worked with each of you during the storm events. The transparency, the availability not only to our concerns but to the public’s concerns and your customers’ concerns, the outreach that you do in the community.”
The representatives from the WREC were in contact with commissioners such as Hawkins and Jerry Campbell throughout the storm events and it was an “honor” to call them community partners, stated the latter. Whether it was texts or phone calls, the cooperative’s members sent the board information in advance to preempt citizens’ questions during the hurricanes.
Campbell praised their customer service as well. This is helped by the organization’s hiring of local talent, which can be crucial when it comes to handling disasters within Hernando’s borders. Every member of the board was extremely grateful for the efforts that Withlacoochee put in during the tribulations of the last year-plus.
The several ways the WREC has given back to the citizens of Hernando monetarily and otherwise is “fantastic,” Commissioner Hawkins added. Due to their status as a cooperative, their members have a stake in the company and it helps to keep service in the upper echelon.
Withlacoochee is “not the standard across the nation […] you are exactly what every cooperative should be, and I’m grateful that you are here in Hernando County providing electric to most of our county,” stated Commissioner John Allocco.
