December 2006
21
Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter
Member Newsletter
Middle Georgia
Middle Georgia
The Official Newsletter of Middle Georgia Electric Membership Corporation
P.O. Box 190, Vienna, GA 31092
December 2006
MANAGER'S
MANAGER'S
Comments
Comments
By Hugh Richardson
his report will be short and simple.
Energy cost is considerably less for
the second half of this year than we had
anticipated. For our residential customers,
the lower cost began in July at 1 percent
less as compared to last year and was as
high as 14 percent less in October. It was
T
Some good news
T
a tremendous sum-
mer for energy use,
so we hope this lower cost has eased the
pain some. We know that it is great to see a
credit itemized on your account for four
consecutive months. We hope that this
trend will continue into next year.
Holiday Notice
Our offices will be
closed on Friday, Dec. 22
and Monday, Dec. 25 for
the Christmas Holidays.
22
GEORGIA MAGAZINE
Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter
Middle Georgia EMC seeks applicants for scholarships
ach year, Middle Georgia EMC accepts applications
for the prestigious Walter Harrison Scholarship. This
year, eight scholarships will be awarded to students
throughout Georgia.
Sponsored by the electric cooperatives of
Georgia, including Middle Georgia EMC, the $1,000
scholarships are offered to students of all ages attend-
ing any accredited two- or four-year university, college
or vocational-technical institute in Georgia.
"This scholarship is not just for graduating high
school seniors, but for anyone who seeks technical
school training or an associate's or bachelor's
degree," says Hugh Richardson at
Middle Georgia EMC. "This is to help
students of all ages get started on
their careers. Some scholarships
have gone to older students
who wanted to return to
school to improve their
circumstances."
Whether fresh out of
high school or in the work-
force and determined to
better themselves, students
who have received the
Walter Harrison Scholarship
express gratitude--like Christa
Veal, a University of Georgia
sophomore and 2005 scholarship
recipient.
"Two years ago when I was gradu-
ating from high school, my family was wor-
ried about money for college," says Veal. "The Walter
Harrison Scholarship really helped at the time because
my dad, who's a farmer, had a low production that
year due to bad weather. This scholarship made a
difference."
The Walter Harrison Scholarship program was
created in 1985 by Georgia Electric Membership Corp.,
the trade association for Georgia's 42 EMCs. The
award pays tribute to the late Walter Harrison, a pio-
neer in rural electrification and an electric cooperative
leader at local, state and national levels. Since its
inception, the program has awarded $100,000 in schol-
arships, in cooperation with Georgia's EMCs, the
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and
Georgia Rural Electric Supply Corp.
"Mr. Harrison was involved in rural electrifica-
tion because he saw how it benefited the communi-
ty," says Richardson. "We continue his legacy with
these scholarships that benefit our communities by
helping our citizens."
The Walter Harrison Scholarship is awarded to
students who excel in SAT scores, academic standing,
and scholastic honors, plus demonstrate a financial
need. To be considered, students must be accepted
or enrolled in an accredited undergraduate degree
program, complete a two-page application and
write a two-page autobiographical sketch
with references to future plans and
goals. Entries are reviewed by a
scholarship committee consisting
of EMC directors and managers
from across Georgia.
To receive a scholarship
application, contact Robert
Herman at Middle Georgia
EMC at (229) 268-2671,
ext. 312. The deadline for
returning applications is
Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007.
Headquartered in Vienna,
Middle Georgia EMC is a con-
sumer-owned cooperative provid-
ing electricity and related services to
more than 4,200 members in Dooly,
Wilcox and Pulaski counties.
Georgia EMC is the statewide trade associa-
tion representing the state's 42 EMCs, Oglethorpe
Power Corp. and Georgia Transmission Corp.
Through this statewide network, the 42 customer-
owned EMCs provide electricity and related services
to approximately 4 million people, nearly half of
Georgia's population, across 73 percent of the
state's land area.
Middle Georgia EMC also issues its own scholar-
ship of $500 to the top three applicants who send in
the required information. The recipients must reside
in the household of a Middle Georgia EMC member
or Middle Georgia EMC employee. The recipient
must be an undergraduate student only, and previous
winners are not eligible for a second scholarship.
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December 2006
23
Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter
MIDDLE GEORGIA EMC
Washington Youth Tour information
hree high school students from any school in
Dooly, Pulaski or Wilcox counties, or a resident
of Middle Georgia EMC's service area attending
another school, can earn an all-expenses-paid trip
to Washington, D.C., in June. The only requirement
is that the student submit an essay about Middle
Georgia EMC and rural electrification by Thursday,
March 1, 2007. The following list outlines the pro-
cedure an interested student must take and the
process of the selection:
1.
If the student is serious about writing the essay,
he or she should fill out an information card and
deliver or mail it to the EMC office. The student
must be sixteen (16) years of age by the tour date,
June 7, 2007.
2.
The student will receive an information sheet,
which outlines the guidelines and informs them
that the material is available through the high
school library, the public libraries in Dooly,
Pulaski and Wilcox counties, or the offices of
Middle Georgia EMC.
3.
The student will use the reading material to
write an essay 500 to 1,000 words in length,
double-spaced on 8.5-by-11-inch bond paper,
with pica or elite type.
4.
Copies of the essays
will be delivered to three
judges. One will be from
each county.
5.
Students' names will be
removed from the essay
copies and coded.
6.
The essays will be judged on knowledge of
the subject, originality, composition, neatness and
grammar.
7.
Finalists will be selected and interviewed to
determine a winner. Interview questions will be
general questions about the student, plus questions
that determine the student's knowledge about the
reading material.
The winner will spend a week in Washington,
D.C., to learn more about the EMC's, rural electrifica-
tion, our nation's history and the legislative process.
Included in the trip are tours of the Smithsonian,
meals with senators and representatives, a riverboat
cruise, and many other
sight-seeing trips in the
nation's capital. The dates
for this year's tour are
June 7-16, 2007.
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2007
24
Middle Georgia EMC Newsletter
GEORGIA MAGAZINE
Board of Directors
Don Wood
President
Johnny Noble
Vice President
Kay West
Secretary
Ronnie Youngblood
Treasurer
John David McCall
Director
Jerry F. Rhodes
Director
Royce Conner
Director
Ronnie Fleeman
Director
David Dunaway
Director
Davis and Forehand
Attorneys
Staff
Hugh Richardson
General Manager
Lisa Laney
Executive Secretary,
Newsletter Editor
Randy Kent
Office Manager
Mike McGee
Manager of Operations
and Engineering
Vienna Area (229) 268-2671
Rochelle
(Day) (229) 365-2263
(Night) 1-800-342-0144
Hawkinsville
(Day) (478) 892-3436
(Night) 1-800-342-0144
Office Hours
Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
(Branch offices closed from
12-1 p.m. daily)
Closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
There is a dispatcher on call 24 hours
a day for your convenience.
Years of Service Recognition for Middle Georgia EMC's dedicated employees goes
to
Joe Tripp
, line foreman, who has worked here for 34 years as of Nov. 20.
And
Gary Fowler
, computer technician, has been dutifully employed with Middle
Georgia EMC for 20 years as of Nov. 3. Congratulations!
Years of Service Recognition
Years of Service Recognition
hether buying lights to trim the tree or power tools to wrap as
gifts, beware of bogus bounty this holiday season.
Many home products can be illegally counterfeited, placing the
purchaser--or the recipient of the perilous present--in danger of using
faulty electrical equipment that does not meet product safety standards.
As you do your holiday shopping, inspect your purchases for
a mark from a reputable product safety testing organization, like
CSA International, which offers these tips to help you spot illegal
counterfeiting:
·
If the product has an unbelievably low price, it's probably a fake.
Compare the prices and warranties of similar products.
·
Touch and examine the product. Counterfeits are often light and
feel cheaply made.
·
Check for misspellings or unclear printing on labels, packaging and
instructions.
·
Poorly designed or unclear packaging with only partial illustrations
could be the sign of a fake.
·
Look for missing items in the product box and for items that
appear different from those described on the packaging.
·
Don't count on the retailer to weed out the offending merchandise.
Even reputable vendors can be duped.
W
Watch out for fa-la-la-la fakes
Watch out for fa-la-la-la fakes