Currents-November 2021

CURRENTS

INSIDE: MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD Electric industry is facing challenges and changes

A THANKSGIVING IN FLORIDA Evidence exists that America’s first formal prayers of thanks took place at St. Augustine in 1565 AROUND THE COMMUNITY Cornhole tournament raises over $5,700 for United Way

© enaschild and 1STunningART/Adobe Stock

NOVEMBER 2021

Suwannee Valley

CURRENTS November 2021

Michael S. McWaters Executive V.P./CEO

Give your community a voice

This is always the time of year when we take stock of everything we have to be thankful for. Speaking for myself, I know I’m thankful to live in a country full of opportunity, for loving family and friends and for the chance to be a part of this wonderful community.

During election years, this is also the time when the American people go to the polls to cast their votes for leaders in their state and in our country as a whole.

Thankfully, most of us are getting a break from the big races this year, but it’s still important to be aware of the issues that impact our community and of the people who represent us.

Just as individuals and businesses across the country are figuring out how to deal with a changing economy and new challenges, the electric industry is in a state of flux, as well. Environmental concerns, along with the growth of renewable energy resources and electric vehicles, are transforming the way our industry works. All too often, how these changes impact large urban centers gets the bulk of our leaders’ attention.

But as a cooperative, we at Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative know that those issues have just as much of an impact on rural communities like ours. That’s why it’s important for each and every consumer-member to know about the challenges facing electric cooperatives and that we make sure our leaders hear our concerns.

For that reason, this month we’re providing you a directory of the legislators representing us in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., as well as information on some legislation that would benefit co-ops and their members. These issues are important for our own community, but they also have repercussions for others just like us all across the country.

I hope you’ll take a moment to read through that feature. Feel free to hold on to it as a reference for the future. Together, we can make sure our leaders hear the voices of rural communities like ours.

Making our voices heard starts with teaching our young people about the important role cooperatives play in this country, and there’s no better place to learn about it than the annual Youth Tour. The deadline for applications to be part of the 2022 tour will be here before you know it, so I encourage every eligible high school junior to apply today. It truly is a one-of-a-kind experience.

Finally, if you haven’t visited the SVEC website in a while, I urge you to do so.

Our team has worked hard to give our online home an overhaul that I think better reflects the work we do in the community and makes it even easier to do business with your cooperative. Visit svec-coop.com to check out the new look for yourself. 

Suwannee Valley Currents is a monthly newsletter published by Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative, © 2021. 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 24/7 Power Outage Reporting 800-752-0025 svec-coop.com facebook.com/sveccoop @SVEC_COOP_FL Instagram.com/sveccoop SVEC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

On the cover: MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD Electric industry is facing challenges and changes that could transform it for decades to come.

See story, Page 4.

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© j-mel/dobeA Stock

CEO’S MESSAGE

Suwannee Valley

Suwannee Valley Currents

Fresh new look

If you haven’t done business on SVEC’s website recently, it’s time for a visit. Our newly designed site makes it easy to: • Manage your SVEC account.

• Enroll in MyChoice.

• Apply for co-op jobs.

• Sign up for new service.

• Request repair of a malfunctioning outdoor light.

• Find information on many topics, including billing and payment options, capital credits, rates, solar energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, home electrical safety and the latest news from the co-op.

Don’t get left in the dark

SVEC’s office will be closed on THURSDAY, NOV. 25, and FRIDAY, NOV. 26, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Our 24-hour outage reporting system is always available, as is our drive-thru payment kiosk. We will have standby crews ready to restore power if needed.

If you’ve noticed a streetlight or area light that isn’t on or is malfunctioning, let SVEC know.

You can request a repair through the SmartHub app by tapping on “Report an Issue/Inquiry” at the top of the home screen, then “Other Issues/General Inquiry” and “Area Light Out.” Once there, use the comments section to let us know where the light is located.

You can also call 800-447-4509 to report a problem over the phone. An SVEC member service representative will contact members who report a malfunctioning area light by the end of the next business day.

Suwannee Valley Currents

November 2021 | 3

© BestVectorStock, BillionPhotos.com, Abdul Qaiyoom, Ramona Kaulitzki /Adobe Stock

The new site takes advantage of the latest online technologies to make finding the information you need easier than ever. Take a few minutes today to explore what’s new at svec-coop.com!

© Maud ez ndessin/Adobe Stock

MAKE YOUR How co-op members can speak Today’s electric industry is facing challenges and than simply provide reliable electricity. They contribute changes that could transform it for decades to come. New approximately 600,000 jobs to the U.S. economy and add energy resources, growing interest in electric vehicles hundreds of billions of dollars to national sales output. As and evolving regulations are all set to impact the way a result, cooperatives are strong supporters of economic Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative brings power to our growth initiatives, particularly those targeted at rural areas. consumer-members.

While these changes affect electric systems all across FLEXIBLE FINANCING the country, the conversation around them often focuses Many co-ops rely on funding from the Department of on major urban centers more than rural communities. Agriculture’s Rural Utility Service to maintain and operate That’s why it is important for cooperatives and the people their systems. However, co-ops are currently unable to they serve to make their voices heard when it comes to refinance those loans at today’s rates, which could save important energy legislation. members billions of dollars. Bipartisan legislation allowing If you aren’t sure how to do that, consider this newsletter them to do so would provide needed financial flexibility for a place to start. On the following page, you can find the co-ops and their communities. names and contact information for each senator and representative speaking for members of SVEC in Tallahassee MODERNIZING INFRASTRUCTURE and Washington, D.C. Here, you can also find a runCooperatives lead the electric industry in infrastructure down of some of the biggest issues facing today’s electric development, from building electric systems designed specooperatives. cifically for their members to installing smart grid technology. Co-ops support efforts to modernize the nation’s infraRENEWABLE RESOURCE INCENTIVES structure, thus giving them the tools they need to better Cooperatives are urging Congress to pass legislation to serve their members in the future. provide direct federal payments to electric cooperatives to develop renewable energy and battery storage proj- ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP ects. For-profit utilities already receive federal tax breaks Cooperative efforts to shift to low- and zero-emission for providing power from solar, wind and other renewable energy sources have helped the U.S. meet pledges to energy sources. But not-for-profit co-ops haven’t been lower carbon pollution ahead of schedule. Co-ops conable to get those incentives because they are exempt from tinue to support common-sense environmental proposals federal income taxes. that keep our air and water clean without jeopardizing our mission of providing reliable and affordable power.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Find out how to learn more about these and other issues Cooperatives do more for the communities they serve on page 6.

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Suwannee Valley Currents

VOICE HEARD up on issues close to home STATE SENATORS

SEN. JENNIFER BRADLEY (Columbia, Lafayette and Suwannee counties)

Senate District 5 Kingsley Center 1279 Kingsley Ave. Suite 117 Orange Park, FL 32073 904-278-2085 SEN. LORANNE AUSLEY (Hamilton County)

Senate District 3

20 East Washington St., Suite D

Quincy, FL 32351 850-627-0474

STATE REPRESENTATIVES

REP. JASON SHOAF (Lafayette County)

House District 7 20816 Central Ave. East Blountstown, FL 32424-2288 850-508-3207

U.S. SENATORS

SEN. RICK SCOTT 400 W. Bay St. Suite 289

Jacksonville, FL 32202 904-479-7227 SEN. MARCO RUBIO 300 N. Hogan St. Suite 8-111

Jacksonville, FL 32202 904-354-4300

U.S. REPRESENTATIVES

REP. NEAL DUNN (Lafayette and Suwannee counties,

parts of Columbia County) House District 2 300 South Adams St. Tallahassee, FL 32301 850-891-8610 REP. AL LAWSON (Hamilton

County and

parts of Columbia County) House District 5 435 North Macomb St. Tallahassee, FL 32301 850-558-9450 

REP. ROBERT CHARLES “CHUCK” BRANNAN III (Columbia,

Hamilton and Suwannee counties)

House District 10 1262 Southeast Baya Drive Lake City, FL 32025-5555 386-758-0405

Suwannee Valley Currents

November 2021 | 5

Knowledge is power

Your vote is your voice

Want to learn more about the latest issues affecting rural electric cooperatives across the country or find out how to get involved?

Visit voicesforcooperativepower.com today!

Not sure if you’re registered to vote? Just visit vote.coop and click on the “Register to Vote” tab to check your status. If you aren’t, the website will walk you through the process and have you registered in minutes.

MINDY MERRELL’S FAVORITE STUFFING/DRESSING 1/2 sticks butter, divided 1 2 cups chopped onion 2 cups chopped celery 5-6 cups crumbled cornbread from a skillet of cornbread made with 2 cups self-rising cornmeal mix or self rising cornmeal 3 cups stale, toasted or fresh bread cubes. Regular bread helps hold the dressing together and gives it a softer texture. You can also use leftover biscuits.

A handful of fresh chopped parsley Other fresh herbs as you like — fresh chopped sage, marjoram, thyme and/or rosemary. If you go with dried herbs, use about 1 teaspoon each of rubbed sage, marjoram, thyme and/or rosemary.

A generous amount of black pepper 3-4 cups chicken or turkey broth, homemade or canned 2 eggs, beaten Melt 1 stick of the butter in a large skillet. Cook the onions and celery in the butter over medium heat until they are soft and caramelized, about 20 minutes.

Combine the crumbled cornbread and bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the cooked vegetables, parsley, herbs and black pepper. Blend well. Taste it to test the seasoning and adjust as needed. Then, stir in the broth and eggs, adding enough broth so that the mixture is moist but not soupy.

Bake the dressing right away, or cover and refrigerate the mixture overnight and cook it the next day.

Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with 1-2 tablespoons of the remaining butter. Pour the dressing into the prepared dish. Dot with the remaining butter.

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Cover lightly with foil and bake in an oven heated to 375 F. Baking time will vary — if baked right away it should take about 45 minutes, but if it’s just out of the refrigerator, it will take closer to an hour. If you have other things in the oven, a lower temperature won’t matter. Just make sure you brown the dressing by removing the foil during the last 15 minutes for a nice, crispy, brown top.

To be sure the dressing is cooked through, check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. It should register at least 165 F. Leftover dressing reheats well in the microwave or oven.

Or, crisp it up in an iron skillet for breakfast, served with runny eggs! 

Do you have a great recipe?

Email a copy of a recipe you’d like to share to communications@svec-coop.com.

Suwannee Valley Currents

Before Plymouth Rock there was

A Thanksgiving in Florida

By Jon Wilson, Visit Florida

Floridians don’t want to upend a beloved Thanksgiving tradition, throw out the turkey and banish the Pilgrims. But strong evidence exists that America’s first formal prayers of gratitude for good fortune, followed by a feast of thanks, took place at St. Augustine in 1565 — 56 years earlier than the traditionally accepted first Thanksgiving at Plymouth Colony.

The Spanish founded America’s first permanent settlement in 1565, and Spanish explorers celebrated the first Thanksgiving of Europeans in America on Sept. 8 of that year. Archaeologists and historians have been able to locate the approximate site, which visitors can view today at the Mission Nombre de Dios and Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine. A 208-foot-tall stainless steel cross both celebrates the founding of the city and marks the approximate location of the feast.

Instead of Pilgrims in tall black hats and broad white collars, robed Spanish priests and armor-clad explorers held a Catholic Mass, then shared a Thanksgiving meal with Native Americans, the tattooed, seashell-adorned Timucuans.

Suwannee Valley Currents

The Spanish doffed their armor, the Timucuans dropped their stone-tipped spears for the occasion, and they shared food and fellowship.

What brought about Florida’s earlier celebration? On Sept. 8, 1565, Spanish Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles, leading an expedition to claim the territory for King Philip II, landed at the St. Augustine site with about 1,000 soldiers, sailors, farmers, clergy and artisans. On a makeshift altar, Father Francisco Lopez celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for the party’s safe journey.

A replica of the altar sits next to the shore in the general area where archaeologists believe the Mass was held. Eminent Florida historian Michael V. Gannon, history professor emeritus at the University of Florida, wrote about the occasion in his heavily researched 1965 book “The Cross in the Sand.” “The admiral had the Indians fed and then dined himself,” Gannon says.

Turkey was not on the menu.

Instead, the first Thanksgiving’s main dish was a garlic stew called cocina, made from pork, garbanzo beans and

olive oil that the Spanish brought from their ships. They dipped hardtack in the stew and washed it all down with red wine. The Timucuans likely contributed a variety of wild game and fish, perhaps deer, mullet, catfish, tortoise, oysters and clams.

Today, more than 200,000 visitors annually come to the mission and the shrine to stroll the grounds, worship, reflect and experience a new window into history. A large part of the attraction is the chapel that houses a replica of the statue of Our Lady of La Leche, the first shrine dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, in the United States. The original casket of Pedro Menendez de Aviles is on view at the mission museum, which tells the story of Catholicism in Florida. 

November 2021 | 7

Cornhole tournament raises over $5,700 for United Way SVEC hosted the fourth annual Suwannee Valley Cornhole Tournament on Oct. 9 to raise money for United Way of Suwannee Valley. This year’s tournament featured 25 teams, divided into competitive and novice brackets.

Players came from as far away as Ocala to compete in the event that raised a total of $5,717.

“We were excited to have several new teams participate this year, and it’s always good to see the players who have been coming out since our first tournament back in 2018,” says SVEC Director of Communications Jon Little. “We are very thankful to them and our local sponsors for making this event such a success.”

SVEC is extremely grateful to the tournament’s sponsors.

GUSHER LEVEL: Pilgrim’s and Seminole Electric Cooperative SWISH LEVEL: First Federal Bank and W.B. Howland’s Building Supply SLIDER LEVEL: Ace Pole Co., Ameris Bank, Cheek & Scott Pharmacy, State Representative Chuck Brannan, Farmers Cooperative, Poole Realty, RIVEROAK Technical College, Sound Line Design and SunStop ACE LEVEL: Live Oak Family Practice, Ryan J. Peters Law Office and Wes Haney Chevrolet North FL Cornhole organized the brackets and coordinated the games. Lunches were available from Rudy’s Dawgs of Live Oak.

Apply for the Youth Tour today!

SVEC is excited to sponsor a tour 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 tour of 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.

Two of the students who go on the tour will also be selected to represent SVEC in Washington, D.C., for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Youth Tour scheduled for June 14-19, 2022. 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 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 due back to SVEC

by Jan. 21, 2022.

To be eligible for the 2022 tour, Feb. 16-17, 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 a child or grandchild of a current SVEC employee or trustee.

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Suwannee Valley Currents