Currents-November 2023

NOVEMBER 2023

Suwannee Valley

CURRENTS

INSIDE: HIGH SPEED How SVEC is building a cutting-edge fiber network right here at home.

HOW THEIR GARDEN GROWS Maclay Gardens State Park is a peaceful escape in Tallahassee.

AROUND THE COMMUNITY Don’t miss your chance to sign up for the 2024 Youth Tour.

CEO’S MESSAGE

Suwannee Valley

CURRENTS

Light out?

November 2023

Michael S. McWaters Executive VP/CEO

New connections From its earliest days, the electric cooperative model has always been about serving the underserved. When Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative was established in 1937, electricity wasn’t reaching rural areas.

At that point, electric lights had long been a common sight in major cities.

But regions like ours were being left behind. Major power companies didn’t see a profit in running miles of line to serve just a handful of people whose homes could be miles apart.

It wasn’t until the Rural Electrification Act was passed that people in these rural areas were empowered to provide electricity for themselves. Job one for the earliest SVEC consumer-members was going door to door convincing their neighbors how valuable an electric system built and owned by them could be.

All these years later, that investment has paid off immeasurably. Now, we have the exciting opportunity to once again serve a vital need in our community. This time, it’s all about the digital divide that exists between rural areas like ours and more urban ones with plentiful access to high speed internet services. Closing that gap could prove just as transformative for our consumer-members as electricity was decades ago.

Last July, we officially announced our

2 | NOVEMBER 2023

plans for Rapid Fiber Internet, a highspeed internet service powered by SVEC. I’m proud to say that construction on our 100% fiber-to-the home broadband network is well underway. In fact, some of our consumer-members located in Phase 1 of construction can now sign up to get Rapid Fiber Internet and just the other day, we connected our 100th customer.

Of course, there is a still a long way to go, and we know many of you have questions about how this project began and how it will progress. That’s why much of this month’s newsletter focuses on Rapid Fiber Internet.

You’ll find information about the network construction process and where your home or business is in the project timeline.

I know many of you are eager to experience our internet service firsthand, and we’re working hard to make it available across our entire system as soon as possible.

If you want more information after reading this newsletter, I encourage you to visit rapid-fiber.com.

Together, we have the opportunity to benefit our community in a whole new way, and I could not be more excited to share this moment with our wonderful members. 

Suwannee Valley Currents is a monthly newsletter published by Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, © 2023. It is distributed without charge to all consumermembers of the cooperative.

WE BELONG TO THOSE WE SERVE Business Office: 800-447-4509 11340 100th St. Live Oak, FL 32060 Lobby Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday Drive-thru Kiosk Open 24 Hours

Let us know HAPPY

SVEC’S OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED ON THURSDAY, NOV. 23, AND FRIDAY, NOV. 24, IN OBSERVANCE OF THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY. Our 24-hour outage reporting system is always available, as is our drivethru payment kiosk. Standby crews will restore power if needed.

Let SVEC know if you notice a streetlight or area light that isn’t on or is malfunctioning.

Request a repair through the SmartHub app or by calling member services at 800-447-4509. One of our member services representatives will respond to those who report a malfunctioning area light by the end of the next business day.

24/7 Power Outage Reporting 800-752-0025 svec-coop.com facebook.com/sveccoop

IS HERE!

@SVEC_COOP_FL Instagram.com/sveccoop SVEC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

On the cover:

Rapid Fiber Internet brings cutting-edge technologies to SVEC consumermembers.

See story Page 4.

Suwannee Valley Currents

Rapid Fiber Internet service is now available to SVEC consumer-members located in construction Zones 1 and 2 of the co-op’s broadband network.

100 Mbps for $50 per month 1 Gig for $80 per month 2 Gigs for $100 per month You can find which zone you’re in by entering your address into the search tool on the Project Info page at rapid-fiber.com.

Suwannee Valley Currents

NOVEMBER 2023 | 3

Getting connected

HOW DOES SVEC DECIDE WHERE FIBER GOES NEXT?

Rapid Fiber Internet brings cutting-edge technologies to SVEC consumer-members Desperate times call for desperate measures, and for students in our region during the pandemic, times were desperate. Internet connectivity was so subpar many students were unable to access their homework electronically when COVID-19 forced schools to close.

Then came a solution. Instead of transporting students, school buses in the territory were used to ferry homework assignments to students’ homes, offering an entirely unexpected twist on remote learning.

This disparity in educational opportunities motivated Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative’s trustees, CEO Michael McWaters and others on the leadership team to take definitive steps to bring SVEC consumer-members access to education, telehealth and other essential online services. McWaters believes cooperatives are exactly the right vehicle for providing this vital service.

“We’ve spent 87 years working for our members and we want to expand and build on that relationship to be the hometown internet provider,” McWaters says. “In addition to meeting the internet needs of our members, a key component for our fiber project is that our members are going to own this fiber optic network for generations to come.”

Pole is made ready to accommodate fiber optic cable.

4 | NOVEMBER 2023

HEALTH OF POLES AND INFRASTRUCTURE — Equipment that needs little or no repairs makes it easy to expand service in those areas quickly and at less cost.

BRINGING BROADBAND HOME

In response to the growing need for broadband connectivity, the SVEC Board of Trustees decided a fiber-tothe-home network was the optimal solution to serve consumer-members’ broadband needs.

SVEC quickly joined broadband initiatives within the state, including local technology planning teams mandated by the state of Florida. Fiber optic cable is lashed to a metal To determine the support wire. need for broadband in rural areas, these teams conducted speed tests in their communities. The deficiency in broadband services was stark, though unsurprising. Of the 4,000-plus SVEC consumer-members who participated, nearly 93% experienced download speeds below 100 Mbps.

The need for a faster, more reliable connection was apparent. McWaters remembers one consumer-member who struggled to access the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Map to determine whether her location was considered served, unserved or underserved. After 10 minutes of futile searching, she gave up, saying, “I don’t have good enough broadband service to help you prove I don’t have good broadband service.”

During that early stage of the project, SVEC enlisted the services of Conexon, a rural fiber optic network design and construction management leader. As a broadband consultant, Conexon provides network design, construction project management, engineering and operations support services for the project.

Suwannee Valley Currents

REVENUE PROJECTIONS — More densely populated areas can generate revenue more quickly, helping to keep the entire project financially viable in the early stages.

NETWORK ACCESS — Just like our electric system relies on power generated by Seminole Electric, our internet system also ties into a wider network. The locations of those tie-in points will partially determine the path of construction.

THE RAPID FIBER CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

BUILDING A NETWORK

Since launching Rapid Fiber Internet in June 2022, SVEC has secured $37 million in grants and the first of three construction phases is now well under way. Crews have replaced 643 poles, added 1,540 more, hung over 325 miles of fiber optic cable and relocated 3,115 pole-mounted devices. What's more, co-op members in the first two completed zones of the network have been signing up for service.

The entire $93 million network is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, giving every one of SVEC’s consumer-members access to fiber-fast broadband. As McWaters reflects on his 29-year journey in the electric co-op industry, he struggles to think of a project that has had a bigger impact for him or the membership.

“Being a part of this project has been very rewarding for me,” he says. “It’s the closest thing I’ll ever experience in my lifetime to the original co-op mission of electrifying rural America. It’s neat to have the opportunity, at this stage, 87 years later, to be involved in something very similar to what transpired in 1937.”  Suwannee Valley Currents

1. DESIGN — The fiber route is mapped along the existing power infrastructure, from substation to individual meter.

2. MAKE-READY ENGINEERING — Crews evaluate the condition and placement of poles along the planned route of the fiber optic cable.

3. MAKE-READY CONSTRUCTION — Poles are replaced or added if needed to accommodate the fiber optic cable.

4. MAKE-READY RIGHT OF WAY — Any trees or shrubs that may interfere with the cable are trimmed or removed.

5. FIBER INSTALLATION — Crews add fiber optic cable to overhead lines and underground areas.

6. SERVICE DROP CONSTRUCTION — Fiber is installed from the nearest tap to a device located on the outside of the home.

7. HOME INSTALLATION — Fiber is installed from the outside device to one inside the home, where it’s connected to a Wi-Fi router, tested and determined ready to connect to the internet.

NOVEMBER 2023 | 5

Mama’s Cinnamon Rolls Easy and delicious, these cinnamon rolls make a mouthwatering addition to your holiday table and are perfect for brunch or any meal.

Heat oven to 375 F. In a 9-by-13-inch baking pan, melt the 5 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the brown sugar, water and pecans.

Separate each can of crescent roll dough into four rectangles; seal perforations. Spread the rectangles with the 3 tablespoons of softened butter. Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the buttered dough rectangles. Roll up each rectangle from the short side. Cut each roll in four slices and place these in the prepared pan over the butter-pecan mixture, cut side down.

BY VISIT FLORIDA STAFF

INGREDIENTS

tablespoons butter cup brown sugar cup water cup chopped pecans (8-ounce) cans crescent rolls tablespoons butter, softened cup granulated sugar teaspoons cinnamon

Try setting your water heater’s temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Many water heaters are set to 140 degrees Fahrenheit by default, even though households rarely need that much heat.

To help your water heater run more efficiently, check if the tank is warm to the touch. If it is, insulating it in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations could save you 7% to 16% on your annual heating costs. Insulating hot water pipes can add another 3% to 4% to your savings. 

To learn more about how to save energy, click on the Energy Efficiency tab on the SVEC website, svec-coop.com.

6 | NOVEMBER 2023

facebook.com/sveccoop instagram.com/sveccoop twitter.com/SVEC_COOP Suwannee Valley Currents

Since that time, land has been added to the initial estate and Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park now covers nearly 1,200 acres.

Outside the circa 1909 hunting lodge-turned-home — which is open for daily tours — attractive brick walkways lead into 28 acres of tended gardens overlooking Lake Overstreet. Peak blooming season generally lasts between January and March, with a special fee for seeing the

A juvenile American alligator calls the gardens home.

Suwannee Valley Currents

Deserving of its description as a “masterpiece of floral architecture,” there are actually several gardens in one, with sections highlighted by camellias, some by azaleas and Alfred Maclay’s favorite retreat — a scenic “secret garden” accessible via a single entrance. There’s a walled garden and a reflecting pool. The native plant arboretum features Piedmont and Florida flame azaleas, white wild indigo, English dogwood, gardenias, wisteria, ginger and jasmine.

A sandy beach on the shore of 160-acre Lake Hall includes picnic pavilions, making it a popular spot for reunions and family get-togethers. Throughout the park hikers explore miles of nature trails, riders travel equestrian trails and bicyclists take to shared-use trails. In these woods are white-tailed deer and seasonal residents such as orangecrowned warblers, blue-headed vireos, dark-eyed juncos and even bald eagles flying in via the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail that soars above the park. It’s a great place to just stop and smell the camellias. 

PARK RANGER SCOTT GROVES

When you save energy, you save money. Check back here each month for new ways to make your home or business more energy efficient.

Water heating can be the second-largest energy expense in many homes, accounting for about 18% of your total energy usage.

Cutting down on hot water use is one way to save money. But you don’t have to sacrifice comfort for lower costs.

By 1953, the Maclays’ shared vision had grown far beyond their expectations. Louise and her children donated the home, the gardens and more than 300 acres of land to Florida. As a state park, now everyone could experience firsthand the Maclays’ generous gift.

PARK RANGER SCOTT GROVES

bright ideas

Along with more than 60 varieties of azaleas, the diverse colors and unique eye-catching composition of more than 150 varieties of camellias became the floral foundation of the Maclays’ gardens. In time the camellias and azaleas were joined by dogwoods, oriental magnolias, tulips, irises, banana shrubs, honeysuckle, silverbell trees and pansies.

gardens between mid- to late-March when the camellias are in full bloom. But even in the less colorful seasons, the park sustains its popularity by hosting weddings as well as gardening workshops, ranger walks and concerts. On the park’s annual calendar are special events such as Kids’ Fishing Day in June, Scarecrows and Jazz in the Gardens in October and December’s Camellia Christmas.

Bald eagles from the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail also stop by the gardens.

COURTESY OF FLORIDA STATE PARKS

When they purchased a Tallahassee hunting lodge and the surrounding plantation in 1923, Alfred and Louise Maclay had a soft spot for camellias. They sent out teams to scour the Southeast and bring back the flowers, which they did, by the hundreds.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Invert immediately onto a rectangular serving platter or sheet of aluminum foil. Spoon any remaining sauce onto the rolls.

Makes 32 small cinnamon rolls.

5 3/4 1/4 1/2 2 3 1/4 2

Land of Flowers Awaits at Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park

The walled garden hides a reflecting pool.

NOVEMBER 2023 | 7

Open for business

Rapid Fiber Internet celebrated the opening of its first zone, along the Scott North Feeder in Suwannee County, on Oct. 2.

Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees President Tyler Putnal and CEO Mike McWaters attended the ribbon cutting, along with other SVEC trustees and members of the Rapid Fiber management team.

We appreciate our members’ support and look forward to bringing this game-changing service to more people soon!

Apply for the Youth Tour today!

SVEC will sponsor a youth tour in February of Tallahassee and the co-op’s facilities in Live Oak for up to 10 high school juniors. While in Tallahassee, students will explore Florida’s legislative process.

Possible activities include a visit to the state Capitol, participation in a mock bill debate on the floor of the Senate or House of Representatives and visits to the Florida Supreme Court and offices of our state legislators.

To be eligible for the 2024 tour, Feb. 7-8, a student must be enrolled in the 11th grade of a high school or homeschool program in SVEC’s service territory and have an unweighted grade point average of at least 3.0. The student must also be a dependent of an SVEC member but cannot be the child or grandchild of a current SVEC employee or trustee.

Tour scheduled for June 16-21. They will be flown to Washington and join students from around the country on visits to sites such as the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Smithsonian museums and Mount Vernon. SVEC will pay for the trip.

More information and a tour application form are available through junior-class guidance counselors or online at sveccoop.com/youth-tour. Applications are to be submitted to SVEC by Jan. 19, 2024.

Two of the students on the tour will also be selected to represent SVEC in Washington, D.C., as part of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Youth 8 | NOVEMBER 2023

Suwannee Valley Currents