May 2015

If you weren’t able to join us for SECO’s 2015 Annual Meeting of the membership on March 28th, you missed a great shindig. More than 3,000

SECO members and guests gathered at the SECO Energy pavilion on a chilly but sunny morning of fellowship and free breakfast. SECO employees served several thousand sausage-egg-and-cheese biscuits and poured 7,320 cups of fresh-brewed coffee. Members and their guests chowed down on 19,000 cookies, 10,000 donuts and 1,000 apples and bananas.

About 250 SECO employees showed up at dawn to prepare. As usual, we had a large, very energetic, and very happy group of members and guests who seemed to have a pleasant, informative morning. I’m very proud of the down-home SECO hospitality dished out with this year’s breakfast selections. Most important, I’m proud of the outstanding service provided to our members every day through the delivery of low-cost, reliable electric service. 100011

During the meeting, a number of members pledged $25 annually to help keep the voice of electric cooperatives heard in the political process through the Action Committee for Rural Electrifi cation (ACRE) program. Contributions didn’t stop there. Other members became SECO Angels by signing up for Pennies from Heaven – a program that rounds up participants’ monthly electric bills to the nearest dollar. The extra pennies (about 50 cents a month per member participant) collectively make a difference in the communities we serve through bill payment assistance for members who need a “hand up” during tough times. Members in need should dial 2-1-1 to request fi nancial assistance. Members who would like to be a SECO Angel through Pennies from Heaven can call or email customerservice@secoenergy.com.

SECO members were also asked to take action by telling Congress to keep electricity affordable. Over 60 SECO members became advocates and sent electronic messages to Congress about protecting affordable, reliable electricity. Raise your voice at www.action.coop.

Prize winners and event photos are posted on the SECO Energy Facebook page. I encourage you to like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and bookmark www.secoenergy.com as a favorite in your web browser to keep up with the latest company news.

The date has been set for next year’s meeting: Saturday, March 19, 2016. Please mark your calendars in advance. I look forward to seeing a record crowd and promise another great meeting.

Best regards,

Jim DuncanChief Executive Offi cer

Dear SECO Members,

The cash prize winners were: $1500 – First Assembly of God Church, Sumterville; $1000 – Carole Putnam, Ocala; $1000 – William P. Cummins, Lake Panasoffkee; $500 – Joan Lejeune, Lady Lake; $500 – Burr W. Stoker, Wildwood.

The moment most members waited for came when Oxford resident

Thewanya Jones’ name was called as the winner of the Dodge Dakota.

Surge ProtectionSafeguard Your Appliances and Electronics

Florida is the lightning capital of the nation, with the term “lightning alley” coined to describe Central Florida. Lightning damage accounted for about $1 billion in homeowners insurance claims each year from 2010 to 2012, according to an analysis by the Insurance Information Institute. In 2013, homeowners insurance claims losses fell 30 percent to $674 million.

Though the decline in losses is good news, there is not a product on the market that can protect a homeowner from a direct lightning strike. A growing number of consumers, including SECO members, are protecting their homes, appliances and electronics from indirect lightning strikes by using surge protection products. 161003

Florida Lightning Stats• 1,414,284 strikes per year

• 24.7 strikes per square mile

• Five fatalities in 2014 (287 deaths nationally since 2006)

• A lightning bolt can carry over 100 million volts of electricity Source: NOAA

SECO offers residential members the choice of leasing

the Meter-Treater® de- vice for $5.95 per month

(with a $25.00 installation fee) or purchasing the

system for $349.00 plus tax with installation included.

For more information on SECO’s surge protection

program visit our website at www.secoenergy.com

or give us a call. You’ll be glad you did!

A direct strike is when a home, well pump, irrigation system, or other equipment is hit directly by lightning allowing a path for it to enter. These strikes, because they are direct structure hits, typically bypass protective equipment that may be installed at the panel box or at the service entrance.

Indirect strikes occur when lightning hits power lines or structures close to lines and uses the line to travel. Folks with underground electric service may be under the impression they are protected. The fact is all underground service ties into above-ground lines, which are very susceptible to lightning.

Although lightning density/frequency in Florida is a significant reason to install surge protection, please understand that surges are caused by a variety of reasons — a tree falling on a wire, a vehicle hitting a pole, wind damage, utility switching, animals in contact with lines, etc.

SECO’s service entrance surge protector, called Meter-Treater is designed to reduce external surges that typically cause catastrophic damage to a manageable level before entering your home. However, that’s only half the battle.

Most people don’t realize that approximately 80 percent of surges are generated internally. Each time a piece of equipment within your home cycles (is turned on), a surge is created. Over time, this can have an impact on your sensitive electronics plugged into that same electric circuit.

We have all heard the old saying, “they just don’t make them like they used to.” Perhaps the culprit is surges over time reducing the life of sensitive electronics. The other consideration is many appliances that used to be mechanically controlled are now equipped with digital controls. Today’s gadget-happy homeowners appreciate the need to protect their home and contents. That is why, in addition to SECO’s primary surge protector, secondary point-of-use protectors are recommended to safeguard your valuables from residual surges from the main protector and those internally generated surges.

Meter-Treater, Inc.QUALITY SURGE PROTECTION DEVICES SINCE 1986

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NATURE’S reflections

tips & quips about our

environment and its

inhabitants

Change Your FilterClean Air - Energy Saving

Regular HVAC fi lter changes allow your unit to operate more effi ciently – saving money on your electric bill. Filter changes also result in cleaner air in your home or business. SECO Energy members

receive a signifi cant discount on fi lter replacement orders through our energy effi ciency partner – FilterChange found at www.secoenergy.com. Shipping is free and the fi lters are delivered right to your door. You can order online or by phone.

ONLINE ORDERSFor big savings on fi lter purchases and convenient delivery, click the QR code above with your smartphone or tablet to order a fi lter that fi ts your unit. Or visit www.secoenergy.com and click on the FilterChange logo.

PHONE ORDERSCall 1-888-939-9788 and mention Sumter Electric Co-op to receive the member discount.

The revenue generated by your purchase of fi lters goes directly to the SECO Angel Fund – a program that provides bill payment assistance for SECO members who need a hand up during diffi cult times. Read more about the Angel Fund on the cover. 180012

Don’t forget to look for the last six digits of your account number in

this month’s SECO News.

You can email us at win@secoenergy.com

or call 352-793-3801 if your number appears. Six winners will be drawn at

random from all submissions.

Florida’s Sea TurtlesGentle giants and among the oldest creatures in the seaFive of the world’s seven sea turtle species nest in Florida: Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), the Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), the Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempi) and the Leatherback (Dermo-chelys coriacea). The Loggerhead is the most common and the Leatherback is the least common. All five found in Florida are classified as either threatened or endangered.

Scientists believe these air-breathing reptiles, who are remarkably suited to life in the sea, were here prior to the dinosaurs. While they have remained essentially unchanged for thousands of years, their future is now in question. To-day, these nomads of the deep are threatened in many ways due to the encroachment of coastal development on their nesting beaches, accidental drownings from being caught in fishing gear, international trade in turtle meat and products, as well as encounters with pollutants and marine debris.

Their hydrodynamic shape, large size and powerful front flippers allow sea turtles to dive to great depths and swim great distances. Sea turtles vary in size according to the species. The smallest are the ridleys, weighing in at 85 to 100 pounds; leatherbacks are the largest, reaching as much as 2,000 pounds. Most grow slowly and have a lifes-pan of many decades. Sea turtles are herbivores. Their diet includes primarily sea grasses and algae as well as sponges, small mollusks and an occasional jellyfish.

During summer nights, female sea turtles come ashore to lay eggs. She digs a hole in the sand using her rear flippers, deposits about 75-150 eggs, covers the eggs and returns to the sea. She may return to repeat this process several times during the nesting season. The temperature of the turtle nest determines the sex of the hatchlings. Warmer temperatures produce more females, and cooler temperatures produce more males. Eggs hatch in 48-70 days. Tiny hatchlings weighing less than an ounce are most vulnerable when they make that first frantic crawl to the safety of the ocean where survivors take 20-50 years to reach reproductive maturity. Male sea turtles never return to the shore again. Females usually return to the same area where they were born, every two to three years, staying just long enough to lay their eggs.

Florida plays an important role in the conservation and protection of these gentle giants for future generations. Our state leads in sea turtle conservation and research, and is home to the nation’s only refuge designated specif-ically for sea turtles, known as the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. �− column by Sandi Staton – sandi.staton@gmail.com

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SECO TRUSTEESExpress Yourself

SECO Energy’s Corporate CommunicationsPO Box 301 • Sumterville, Florida • 33585-0301

webmaster@secoenergy.com Ray F. VickPresident • District 5

Jerry D. Hatfi eldVice President • District 9

Robin R. HenionSecretary-Treasurer • District 7

Scott D. BoyattDistrict 1

Dillard B. BoyattDistrict 2

Richard J. BellesDistrict 3

James D. HoltzDistrict 4

Earl MuffettDistrict 6Bill JamesDistrict 8

Jim DuncanCEO

SECO’s Board of Trustees will meet on Monday,

May 18th at 2:30 p.m. in the Corporate Offi ces located at 330 South US Highway 301

in Sumterville. A Trustees’ meeting will also

be held on June 22, 2015.

SECO 24/7 Job Hotlinewww.secoenergyjobs.com

855-483-2673

SECO Outage Hotlinewww.secostormcenter.com

800-732-614

My Co-op Deals

Members’ source for discounts Your SECO Co-op Connections card is a money-saving tool and the card connects you with a variety of discounts. Here are a couple:

Specializing in mobility equipment sales and service, Mobility Monkeyis offering $50 discount on any mobility scooter or power chair in the shop. This family-owned business is located between Ocala and Belleview at 9468 U.S. Highway 441 (www.mobilitymonkey.net).

Attention ice-cream lovers! Sandee’s Ice Cream is offering Co-op Connections members a 10% discount. The ice-cream parlor is located in Hernando Plaza on U.S. 41 in Hernando.

For a local listing of other participating businesses and for the national deals, visit www.connections.coop and sign in using your zip code.

If you are a local business owner interested in participating in the Co-op Connections program, please give us a call at 352-793-3801 and ask to speak to an energy services specialist.

After attending the yearly SECO meeting, I had to sit down and write a thank you to all the SECO employees. It was a pleasure to attend even though I didn’t win the 2004 Dodge truck.

When I registered, to our surprise, with one of the tickets we were able to get egg-sausage biscuits. Best ever!

Music was good as always. I also took advantage of the three big screens as we like to sit in the back with the sun on our backs.

Mostly we enjoyed the opening ceremonies with the colors presented by the Sumter school children. It was a full ceremony that should be present in all public events.

I only have one suggestion – can you serve tea or orange juice as some of us don’t drink coffee or pop. 975001

I have signed up for Pennies for Heaven. It is a small way to

change lives and the most it can cost me is $11.88 for the year.

Keep up the good work as you are a wonderful company to be a part of.

Sincerely,

Pat Carr, SECO AngelWebster, FL

I love the “Nature’s Reflections” in the SECO News, especially when it is information on natives of Florida.

So I’m very interested in this month’s “The Florida Scrub-Jay.” I just recently moved to Florida, am an amateur bird watcher, and would like to add this bird to my list. Could you give me some suggestions as to what actual locations may have the Scrub-Jay?

Thank you for your help, and “Nature’s Reflections.”

Rick Cinella, SECO member

The Villages, FL