Georgia Magazine - September 2024 - 15

SHORTTakes
Sumter EMC donates toward
educational fire-safety robot
T
he Americus-based Sumter Electric Membership Corp. (EMC) Foundation
awarded a $5,000 grant to Sumter County Fire & Rescue to help fund the
purchase of an interactive fire-safety robot known as Freddie the Fire Truck.
The animatronic fire truck will be used in teaching local children vital lessons
about fire prevention and emergency response in an engaging and memorable way.
Freddie's design engages children with interactive
lighting, sounds and movements. Freddie also can
communicate with children at eye level, making
the learning experience more personal.
Fire departments nationwide have used
Freddie the Fire Truck in their community
outreach and school programs.
" By supporting fire and safety education,
we are investing in the well-being of families
across Sumter County, " said Andrea Walker,
chairman of the Sumter EMC Foundation.
" We are proud to equip Sumter County's
first responders with this innovative
teaching apparatus. "
-Mary-Margaret Fox
Freddie the Fire Truck, an educational robot manufactured by Utah-based Robotronics Inc.,
can talk, listen, move, play sounds and move his eyes while teaching youngsters about
fi re safety.
Rayle EMC supports local hospital
Here comes the Sun(belt): The annual Sunbelt
Ag Expo will take place Oct. 15-17 in Moultrie.
Georgia's EMCs will greet guests with popcorn
and water, will conduct high-voltage safety
demonstrations and will offer " climb a pole "
photo opportunities for children. Among other
expo highlights is the Farmer of the Year
presentation, at which the Southeastern
regional winner will be announced from among
eight participating states' winners. Georgia's
Farmer of the Year is Bruce Allen Redmond of
Shiloh Farms in Guyton. Learn more and plan
your visit at sunbeltexpo.com.
Lining up workers: Carroll EMC in Carrollton
awarded six $5,000 Lineman School
Scholarships this year. The recipients-Bailey
Frederick, Grayson Gulledge, Trevor Hansford,
Chase O'Neal, Tucker Philpot and Clayton
Rose-can use the funds to pursue a lineworker
program at the schools of their choice.
Rayle Electric Membership Corp. (EMC) in Washington recently participated in a
community program called Sharing Success. The program is an initiative of Coloradobased
CoBank, a national nonprofit banking cooperative that matches donations made
by the electric cooperatives and other rural businesses it serves to support charitable
causes in their local communities. The Rayle EMC board of directors partnered with
CoBank through Sharing Success to deliver a $4,000 donation on June 27 to Wills
Memorial Hospital in Washington. The hospital has served Wilkes and surrounding
counties for more than 100 years. At the check presentation are, from left, Tony Griffin,
general manager of Rayle EMC; Karen Chafin, manager of administrative services at Rayle
EMC; Tracie Haughey, CEO of Wills Memorial Hospital; and Susan Pope, Wills Memorial
Hospital director of human resources.
Still truckin': Flint Energies in Reynolds
recently donated a retired truck to the Taylor
County School District Police Department.
Here, Jimmy Towns, chief of police for the Taylor
County School District, accepts the truck.
Watch your aim: Georgia's electric membership
cooperatives (EMCs) are conducting a statewide
educational campaign about the dangers of
shooting at doves when they are perched on
power or broadband lines. The campaign
coincides with the start of dove-hunting season
on Sept. 7. Hunters who shoot these lines
can cause very costly repairs that can affect
members' power bills as well as long outages
while the complex lines are being repaired or
replaced. Please emphasize to any hunters
you know that they should never shoot in the
vicinity of power lines.
www.georgiamagazine.org
15
COURTESY RAYLE EMC
COURTESY ROBOTRONICS INC.
COURTESY FLINT ENERGIES
COURTESY GEORGIA EMC
http://www.sunbeltexpo.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org
Georgia Magazine - September 2024

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