Currents Suwannee Valley
POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS
How SVEC and emergency management work together year-round
AUGUST 2026
GRIDIRON GAMES Fall football on the horizon AROUND THE COMMUNITY The Youth Tour visits D.C. and more
CEO’S MESSAGE
Strong teamwork builds a united storm response Living in Florida means enjoying beautiful weather for much of the year, while also knowing that hurricane season and severe storms are simply part of life. We can’t control when the next storm will arrive, but we can take steps to prepare before it does. At Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, storm preparation is something we work on year-round. Long before dark clouds appear on the horizon, our crews are inspecting equipment, maintaining rights of way, testing systems and making plans to respond safely and efficiently when severe weather strikes. Responding to a major storm requires teamwork among many organizations. Local emergency management agencies, first responders, public works departments and electric utilities all play important roles in helping communities recover. By communicating Executive VP/CEO MICHAEL S. McWATERS regularly and coordinating our plans before an emergency occurs, we can respond more effectively when our consumer-members need us most. In this issue, you can learn more about how SVEC works alongside local emergency management agencies to prepare for hurricanes and other severe weather events. From coordinating restoration priorities to sharing information during emergencies, these partnerships help ensure our communities receive the support they need when conditions are at their most challenging. Preparation is one of the most important investments we can make. While no utility can prevent every outage during a major storm, careful planning, ongoing maintenance and strong relationships with our local partners allow us to not only rebuild the electric system but also help our community recover. Our hometown commitment extends well beyond storm season. Throughout the year, SVEC is proud to support opportunities that strengthen the communities we serve and invest in the next generation of leaders. Recently, that included sending local students to this year’s National Rural Electric Cooperative Youth Tour, where they joined thousands of other young leaders from across the country for an unforgettable week in Washington, D.C. You can also find information in this newsletter about our recent book donation and blood drive—two community efforts made possible through the collaboration of our local partnerships, consumer-members and neighbors. Whether we’re preparing for severe weather, helping students broaden their horizons or partnering with local organizations to meet important community needs, our mission remains the same. SVEC was founded on the idea that people accomplish more when they work together, and that principle continues to guide us today. Thank you for allowing us to serve you. We appreciate the trust you place in our cooperative, and we remain committed to providing safe, reliable electric service while working alongside our communities through every season, whether it’s stormy or calm. ■ 2 | AUGUST 2026
Suwannee Valley
Currents August 2026
Suwannee Valley Currents is a monthly newsletter published by Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, © 2026. 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. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday Drive-thru Kiosk: Open 24 hours 24/7 Power Outage Reporting: 800-752-0025 svec-coop.com facebook.com/sveccoop instagram.com/sveccoop SVEC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SUWANNEE COUNTY EMA
Storm preparation works best when everyone has a seat at the table. The cooperative works with local emergency management agencies year-round to make sure everything is in place when storm season rolls around. Read more on Page 4.
Suwannee Valley Currents
SVEC NEWS
Stay cool and cut costs
Making the grade with speed & reliability
The heat is on, and so is your hard-working cooling system. Take some simple steps to stay cool while keeping costs down. Lock out hot temperatures by closing window coverings to block the sun’s heat and by adding or replacing weatherstripping to stop air leaks. Use fans to circulate cooled air, but turn them off when no one is in the room. Boost your cooling system’s efficiency by keeping it maintained. Change or clean the air filters every few weeks, clear debris away from outdoor units, check that vents and registers aren’t blocked and have the HVAC system checked regularly. Even small changes, like turning off lights and unplugging devices not being used, can lower energy costs. Bigger changes, like upgrading to a smart or programmable thermostat, can bring more savings. Program these devices to raise the temperature when you’re away from home and otherwise improve efficiency. Also, avoid running appliances during the day that emit heat or use lots of energy — for instance, use a microwave instead of the oven when possible — and switch to LED light bulbs. Another great tool is SVEC’s SmartHub app, which shows energy usage over time in a simple graphic. This data can help you track how daily activities affect electricity consumption, providing helpful insights even before your bill generates.
Happy
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Day!
SVEC’s office will be closed Monday, Sept. 7, for the Labor Day holiday. The 24-hour outage reporting system and our drive-thru payment kiosk remain available as always, and we will have standby crews ready to restore power if needed. We honor those of you who will be working on the holiday and hope all who are off will enjoy a wonderful, relaxing day. Suwannee Valley Currents
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AUGUST 2026 | 3
The Power of Partnerships Storm preparedness is a year-round effort By the time a tropical system earns a name on the open sea, the work behind any necessary response and recovery effort has already been underway for months. For members of Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, the most visible signs of storm response are line crews replacing broken poles and mobilizing bucket trucks to restore power and utility vehicles navigating roads still littered with debris. But behind the scenes, year-round planning efforts by the emergency management agencies in Suwannee, Columbia, Hamilton and Lafayette counties prepare for when disaster strikes, building relationships and refining plans in concert with organizations like SVEC, so everyone is reading from the same playbook. “It’s a never-ending process,” Columbia County Emergency Management Director Shayne Morgan says. “Communication with our partners is first and foremost. We make sure we know exactly who to call and they know how to reach us.” Relationships are among the most valuable tools emergency managers have when it comes to coordinating shelters, arranging fuel deliveries, identifying medically vulnerable residents, securing equipment staging areas and sharing real-time outage information. The county EMAs bank on close collaboration with utilities, law enforcement, fire rescue, public works, health departments and nonprofit organizations. Suwannee County Emergency Management Director Sharon Hingson compares the job to directing air traffic. “We bring everybody to the table,” she says. “They’re the decision-makers for their organizations, and we all sit in the same room, listen to the information and make decisions together. It’s all about communication.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SUWANNEE COUNTY EMA
Blue sky planning
Hingson refers to the quieter planning months as “blue sky days,” the time when emergency operations plans are updated, training exercises are conducted, equipment inventories are reviewed and partnerships are strengthened. “We’re always planning,” Hingson says. “You have a fuel plan, a feeding plan, a sheltering plan and an equipmentstaging plan. Just like Suwannee Valley Electric has a plan for everything they do, we’re working to have a plan for everything we do.” Morgan says preparations often include tabletop exercises, where agencies walk through hypothetical disasters together, discussing how each organization would respond. 4 | AUGUST 2026
“We think about the worst things possible,” he says. “Then we ask, ‘How do we deal with it?’”
Ready to respond
When a hurricane begins taking aim at Florida, those plans quickly transition into action. Emergency operations centers bring on added staff, and agencies exchange information continuously. For SVEC, that means sharing outage information, coordinating restoration priorities and helping emergency officials identify operating shelters and critical infrastructure that depend on reliable electricity. Emergency managers also help coordinate road access for utility crews, assist with traffic control around damaged power lines and work with state officials when special accommodations are needed to restore electrical infrastructure safely. Just as importantly, they help communicate with the public. “The more prepared the public is, the more it’s going to help us,” Morgan says.
Neighbor helping neighbor
Preparation is especially important in rural communities, where EMAs often operate with only a handful of employees while serving large geographic areas. Hingson says many rural counties have staffs of just two or three people but must meet the same state and federal preparedness requirements as much larger metropolitan agencies. The difference is made up through cooperation with neighboring EMAs. Suwannee Valley Currents
“We don’t have all the equipment larger counties have,” she says. “That’s where partnerships come in with neighboring counties, with organizations in the community and with Suwannee Valley Electric.” Morgan, who began working for Columbia County Emergency Management in 2003, says communication between EMAs and electric providers is “night and day” compared to two decades ago. “It flows so much better now,” he says. “I’m really grateful for the relationships we have with Suwannee Valley and our other electric providers.” Hingson echoes that sentiment. “They’ve always been very easy to work with,” she says. “They communicate well, and they’ve always been community oriented. As long as I can pick up the phone and they answer, we’re good.”
Preparing the public
For cooperative members, the impact is felt every time power is restored more efficiently, shelters open smoothly and critical services continue operating during an emergency. Emergency managers count on residents to be partners, as well. Tropical Storm Debby caused extensive flooding in 2012 across North Florida, damaging homes and businesses, leaving roads impassable.
Both Morgan and Hingson encourage families to prepare before storm threats emerge by creating emergency plans, assembling disaster supply kits and signing up for their county’s local emergency alert systems which provide weather warnings and emergency notifications by text, email and phone. “Plan for the worst and hope for the best,” Hingson says. “If people will prepare ahead of time, they’ll be so much better off.” ■
Suwannee County (Live Oak)
Phone: 386-364-3405 Call Center: 386-330-3512 Alerts sign-up: public.everbridge.net/sign-up/new or text ZIP code to 888777 Website: suwanneecountyfl.gov/emergency-management Follow Suwannee County Emergency Management on Facebook.
Columbia County (Lake City)
Phone: 386-758-1383 Call Center: 386-758-1125 Alerts sign-up: public.everbridge.net/sign-up/new or text ZIP code to 888777 Website: em.columbiacountyfla.com Follow Columbia County Florida Emergency Management on Facebook.
Lafayette County (Mayo)
Phone: 386-294-1600 Call Center: 386-294-1950 Alerts sign-up: public.everbridge.net/sign-up/new or text ZIP code to 888777 Website: lafayettecountyfl.org/departments-services/ emergency-management Follow Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook.
Hamilton County (Jasper)
Phone: 386-792-6647 Alerts sign-up: public.everbridge.net/sign-up/new or text ZIP code to 888777 Website: hamiltoncountyfl.com/emergency-management Follow Hamilton County EMS on Facebook. Suwannee Valley Currents
AUGUST 2026 | 5
RECIPE and SAFETY
Sea Salt Citrus Cake INGREDIENTS
½ cup Florida orange juice, divided ½ cup Greek yogurt 3 eggs 1 cup sugar 1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons grated orange zest ⅓ cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon sea salt, medium grain ¾ cup powdered sugar Orange segments, orange curl and mint sprig, optional for topping
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine ¼ cup orange juice, yogurt, eggs and sugar. Mix until smooth.
Add flour, baking powder and orange zest. Mix just until combined, then add oil and mix until fully blended. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Lightly sprinkle the sea salt on top of the cake batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set the cake aside to cool in the pan for 8 minutes. Remove it from the pan and place it on a wire rack to completely cool. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by combining remaining ¼ cup orange juice and powdered sugar, stirring until smooth. Set aside. Once the cake has cooled, place it on a serving plate. Drizzle the glaze over the cake. If desired, top with garnishes before serving. ■
Safety first Electricity powers modern life, but it is dangerous if not handled carefully. Check back here each month for new tips on how to stay safe around electric power at your home or business. As students head back to school, it’s a good time to teach them how to protect themselves around electricity by following these tips from the Electrical Safety Foundation International:
• Do not play on or around utility poles or power
lines, green box transformers or any other electrical equipment.
• Never insert anything other than a plug into an electrical outlet.
• Keep away from power stations and substations. • Don’t plug too many cords into one electrical outlet.
• If an electrical cord is frayed or broken, do not use it. • Make sure any item that can burn is nowhere near light bulbs or other electrical devices that get hot.
• Never place any electronic device near liquids. • Immediately leave any building or area where you see smoke or fire. Call 911 from a safe place. ■
To learn more about building safe electric habits, click the Outages & Safety tab on svec-coop.com, and follow us on social media.
/sveccoop @sveccoop
6 | AUGUST 2026
Suwannee Valley Currents
2026 Varsity Football Schedule Suwannee High School
Lafayette High School
Vs Madison County
Aug. 14
7:30 p.m.
Vs Union County
Aug. 14
7:30 p.m.
@ Crystal River
Aug. 21
7 p.m.
Vs Zarephath
Aug. 21
7:30 p.m.
Vs Lafayette
Aug. 28
7:30 p.m.
@ Suwannee
Aug. 28
7:30 p.m.
Vs Gainesville
Sept. 4
7:30 p.m.
Vs Hamilton County
Sept. 4
7:30 p.m.
Vs Palatka
Sept. 11
7:30 p.m.
@ Chiefland
Sept. 11
7:30 p.m.
Vs Hamilton County
Sept. 18
7:30 p.m.
Vs Dixie County
Sept. 18
@ Wakulla
Sept. 25
7 p.m.
@ Florida High
7:30 p.m. * Sept. 25 7 p.m.
Vs Zarephath
Oct. 2
@ Fort White
Oct. 2
BYE
Oct. 9
Vs Baker County
7:30 p.m. * Oct. 9 7:30 p.m.
@ Godby
Oct. 23
7 p.m.
Vs Trenton
Oct. 16
7:30 p.m.
@ Columbia
Oct. 30
7:30 p.m.
Vs Branford
Oct. 23
7:30 p.m.
Columbia High School
7:30 p.m.
Hamilton County High School
@
Oakleaf
Aug. 14
7:30 p.m.
@ Wolfson
Aug. 14
6:30 p.m.
@
Bolles
Aug. 21
7:30 p.m.
@ Bell
Aug. 21
7:30 p.m.
Vs
Lakewood
Aug. 28
7:30 p.m.
Vs Wildwood
Aug. 28
7 p.m.
Vs
Madison County
Sept. 4
7:30 p.m.
@ Lafayette
Sept. 4
7:30 p.m.
@
Ribault
Sept. 11
6:30 p.m.
Vs South Marion
Sept. 11
7:30 p.m.
@
Trinity Christian
Sept. 18
7 p.m.
@ Suwannee
Sept. 18
7:30 p.m.
Vs
Riverside
Sept. 25
7:30 p.m.
@ Jefferson County
Sept. 25
7:30 p.m.
@
Manatee
Oct. 2
7:30 p.m.
Vs Impact Christian
Oct. 9
@
Ed White
Oct. 16
7:30 p.m.
Vs Williston
7:30 p.m. * Oct. 16 7:30 p.m.
Vs
Yulee
Oct. 23
@ Fort White
Oct. 23
7:30 p.m.
Vs
Suwannee
Vs FAMU DRS
Oct. 30
7:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m. * Oct. 30 7:30 p.m.
*homecoming
Suwannee Valley Currents
Branford High School @ Aucilla Christian
Aug. 14
7:30 p.m.
Vs Eagles View
Aug. 21
7:30 p.m.
@ Wewahitchka
Aug. 28
7 p.m.
@ Bell
Sept. 4
7:30 p.m.
Vs Oak Hall
Sept. 11
7:30 p.m.
Vs Port St. Joe
Sept. 18
7:30 p.m.
Vs Crescent City
Sept. 25
7:30 p.m.
@ St. Joseph
Oct. 2
7:30 p.m.
Vs Trenton
Oct. 9
7:30 p.m.
@ Lafayette
Oct. 23
7:30 p.m. AUGUST 2026 | 7
SVEC IN THE COMMUNITY
Students represent SVEC at national Youth Tour Colton Sullivan, of Lafayette High School, and Aubrey Driggers, of Suwannee High School, represented Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative and the state of Florida in mid-June at the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. They visited historic sites, engaged with lawmakers and fellow co-op delegates from across the nation and learned valuable lessons about the cooperative model, history, leadership and how to influence positive change within their communities. For more than half a century, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association has offered the Youth Tour, which has brought nearly 100,000 students from rural areas and small towns across America to the nation’s capital. Be on the lookout for the 2027 Youth Tour application period this fall! Colton Sullivan and Aubrey Driggers pose for a photo outside the Capitol.
Youth Tour delegates made friends with peers from across the country.
8 | AUGUST 2026
Books initiative celebrates America The Suwannee Valley Community Foundation, in partnership with Duke Energy Foundation, provided 300 books celebrating American history to public schools in Hamilton, Lafayette and Suwannee counties. The books initiative honors the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and celebrates the American story through a combination of nonfiction and historical fiction books for grades K-12.
Blood drive set for Sept. 22 On Tuesday, Sept. 22, SVEC will host a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at our Live Oak headquarters, 11340 100th St. Every pint collected can save up to three lives, and all donated blood is distributed to local hospitals. Please join us and roll up your sleeve to make a real difference in your community.
Suwannee Valley Currents