Georgia Magazine - December 2019 - 15

SHORTTakes

RICHARD LUBRANT

Co-ops return to
Sunbelt Ag Expo

STEVE CHALKER / JEFFERSON ENERGY COOPERATIVE

Feline victorious

Jefferson Energy Cooperative in
Wrens was awarded third place in the haybale category of the Thomson-McDuffie
Chamber of Commerce's Fall Crow/Hay
Bale Contest. The face of a black cat-
dubbed Jefferson the Co-op Cat-was
created by Jefferson Energy employees
Brady Hadden and Suzanne Saunders and
was on display near the old courthouse
on Main Street in Thomson. Residents
voted for their favorites through the
chamber's Facebook page, and winners
were announced on Oct. 22.

KALEB FRADY

Nurturing businesses: Jasper-based Amicalola
EMC recently donated $20,000 to the Collaboration On River's Edge (CORE), Gilmer County's
workplace-innovation space. An initiative of the
Greater Gilmer Community Foundation, CORE's
mission is to house entrepreneurs and startups,
offer co-working and mentorship opportunities, serve as a new-venture incubator/accelerator, teach and train for employment success
and provide a community meeting place.

LAKE CHATUGE CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE

eorgia's electric membership cooperatives
(EMCs) welcomed
thousands of attendees to their
exhibit during the 42nd annual
Sunbelt Agricultural Expo
Oct. 15-17 in Moultrie.
In addition to free popcorn and bottles of cold water,
the exhibit offered visitors
electric-safety demonstrations;
a display provided by Mitchell
A new photo op at the EMCs' Sunbelt Ag Expo booth this
EMC in Camilla that detailed
year allowed children to appear to be lineworkers in a
the restoration efforts after
bucket truck.
Hurricane Michael last year;
and a new photo booth featuring a line truck bucket, in which children could have photos taken in lineman gear.
Rainy, overcast skies kept the Touchstone Energy hot-air balloon grounded for the
first two days of the expo, but the balloon-piloted by Ohio native Bob Scobee-flew
over the final morning of the event carrying the American flag.
Volunteers from Tucker-based Georgia EMC and Green Power EMC as well as coops throughout the state staffed the event. Jefferson Energy Cooperative in Wrens sent
its high-voltage trailer and a crew to run four daily electric-safety demonstrations, with
help from Carroll EMC (Carrollton), Colquitt EMC (Moultrie), Coweta-Fayette EMC
(Palmetto) and Snapping Shoals EMC (Covington). Irwin EMC in Ocilla provided its
climbing pole trailer for children to wear a lineman belt and pretend to be a lineman.
Other cooperatives providing volunteers were Altamaha EMC (Lyons), Coastal
Electric Cooperative (Midway), Diverse Power (LaGrange), Flint Energies (Reynolds),
Grady EMC (Cairo), Ocmulgee EMC (Eastman), Okefenoke Rural EMC (Nahunta) and
Planters EMC (Millen).
-Kaleb Frady

When it counts:
Pat Merritt, vice
president of
community and
economic development at Tuckerbased Georgia
Electric Membership Corp. (EMC),
will be one of 66
leaders statewide serving on the governorappointed Complete Count Committee. The
task force will work to ensure that the 2020 U.S.
Census includes every Georgia resident, with
the goal of achieving an accurate count and,
subsequently, the correct number of congressional representatives and amount of federal
funding.

Fish story: Blue Ridge Mountain EMC in
Young Harris was one of four sponsors of the
inaugural Reelin' It In for Veterans Fishing
Tournament on Nov. 2. The tournament, which
drew 32 two-angler teams competing for
$7,500 in prizes, was held at the Georgia
Mountain Fairgrounds in Hiawassee and raised
$500 for the local Veterans of Foreign Wars
(VFW) chapter.
Milestone in giving: Sumter EMC in Americus
recently topped the $1 million milestone in its
Operation Round Up donations. In Operation
Round Up, EMC members opt to round their
monthly bills up to the next dollar, and the difference goes into a fund for charitable causes
in the community.
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Georgia Magazine - December 2019

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