April 2012 - Flint Energies

Energy
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April 2012
The official publication for members of Flint Energies
Flint Energies celebrates 75 years
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Powering Middle Georgia since 1937
eventy-five years ago this
month, the Rural Electrification
Administration (REA) formally
organized Taylor County Electric
Membership Corp. (now known as
Flint Energies) to provide electricity
to rural residents in Taylor County.
In 1937, electricity was a luxury
for most ... and a dream for Middle
Georgia farmers and housewives.
Thanks to the vision of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, rural electrification became a reality. Rural
electrification can be traced to FDR’s
time in Warm Springs, Ga., where he
would retreat to alleviate the complications of polio.
It was there that Roosevelt received
his first monthly electric bill for his
summer cottage, the Little White
House. The bill was much higher
than the one for his home in Hyde
Park, N.Y. At the time, only 10 percent of rural residents had electricity,
and they paid a hefty price. Roosevelt
realized this disparity and created the
Rural Electrification Act, which allowed the government to help bring
affordable electricity to rural areas
like Middle Georgia.
April 23, 1937. These same residents
served as the Co-op’s first Board of
Directors. A $50,000 REA loan was
financed to build the first 46.7 miles
of line, which served 90 families
in the Crowell and Wesley areas of
northern Taylor County.
This was the reason Flint Energies
was formed. Taylor County residents G. Leonard Cooper, Floyd C.
Jarrell, J. Howard Neisler, Emory F.
Parr and George Z. Young banded
together and created Taylor County
Electric Membership Corp. The
Cooperative was granted charter on
At the January 1941 Annual Meeting, Cooperative members voted
to change the name of the utility to
Flint Electric Membership Corp. to
be more inclusive, since people outside of Taylor County were receiving
electricity. The name came from the
Flint River, which divides Flint’s
April 2012
C.B. “Boss” Watson, Warner Robins’ first mayor, signals to turn on the city’s first
street lights in 1952.
Every Day in USA is Armed Forces Appreciation Day
service area.
In the early 1940s, the residents of
Wellston, a community in Houston
County near a small airfield, asked
the investor-owned utility that served
the airfield if it would extend lines
to serve the town. When they were
turned down for service, Wellston
residents sought assistance from
Flint EMC. The Co-op agreed, and
over the years, Flint has literally
grown up with Wellston, now Warner Robins, and Robins Air Force
Base, that once-small airfield.
Continued on page 26B
www.flintenergies.com
26A
Continued from page 26A
Flint EMC changed its name to Flint
Energies in the early 2000s to better
reflect the new products and services
the Cooperative was offering. Today, Flint Energies is a not-for-profit
member-owned electric cooperative
that provides energy services to
residential, commercial, industrial
and agricultural members in parts of
17 Middle Georgia counties. Flint
has 240 employees and serves more
than 84,400 meters.
Flint’s physical plant consists of
more than 6,406 miles of distribution
line and 50 substations located within Bibb, Chattahoochee, Crawford,
Dooly, Harris, Houston, Macon,
Marion, Monroe, Muscogee, Peach,
Schley, Sumter, Taylor, Talbot,
Twiggs and Upson counties. The
system also includes the Museum of
Aviation at Robins Air Force Base
and the Fort Benning military post.
Flint is the eighth largest of Georgia’s
42 EMCs and the 36th largest of the
nation’s nearly 1,000 rural electric
cooperatives.
A legacy of reliable and affordable
electric service continues as the
Cooperative celebrates 75 years of
powering Middle Georgia— its Diamond Jubilee.
Three of Flint’s 1939 Board of Directors
(left to right): Floyd Tabor, President
Emory Parr and J.Howard Neisler.
26B
TOGETHERW ESAVE. CO M
GEORGIA MAGAZINE
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Third annual Rev Up for
Little Ones Motorcycle Ride
ev Up and ride in support of local children in need of a bright Christmas
while enjoying a magnificent ride through beautiful Middle Georgia.
Linemen for Little Ones and Food for the Needy are charitable organizations established by Flint Energies employees to help needy families
during the Christmas season. Employees developed these charities out of
concern for those they serve. Food boxes and toys are donated to families
recommended by Flint employees. Money is raised through several internal
fundraisers and one external fundraiser, the Rev Up for Little Ones Motorcycle Ride.
Each year, motorcycle enthusiasts gather at the Flint Service Center in
Warner Robins to ride for the cause. Participants enjoy an escorted ride
through Middle Georgia, with several stops along the way. When asked
about the ride, Flint employees are proud to say this ride is open to everyone with a heart for children. Upon returning to the Flint Service Center,
there will be drawings for door prizes. Lunch will be provided, along with
the opportunity to meet new friends and get reacquainted with old friends.
So please come out and enjoy the festivities and ride. It’s all about the kids!
Remember it’s not what you ride that counts, it’s that you ride!
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Lunch and door prizes upon
return
$25 per rider
$10 per passenger
Preregister by March 31 and
receive a free T-shirt. Download a
registration form at
www.flintenergies.com or
contact Ed Hawkins at
[email protected].
You may also register the
day of the event.
Green Power announces solar
installation in Warner Robins
reen Power EMC, the largest
renewable-energy provider in
Georgia, continues to grow its energy portfolio with the addition of a
150- kilowatt solar facility in Warner
Robins, Ga. The facility will bring
Green Power EMC’s total renewable
generation to almost 28 megawatts.
in the state, providing 4.7 million
kWh of solar energy to the power
grid over its projected 25-year lifetime.
“We’re very proud to be involved
in the Clean Control solar project,”
says George Mori, executive vice
president at First Century Energy.
“The array speaks volumes about
Clean Control’s commitment to
sustainability and demonstrates the
economic development potential for
solar in Georgia, as most of the system components
and all labor was
sourced in the
state.”
Green Power EMC joined forces
with odor elimination manufacturer
Clean Control Corp. and solar developer First Century Energy to build
the solar project.
Located on approximately one
acre at the headquarters of Clean
Control Corp. in
Warner Robins,
the facility will
be one of the
largest solar photovoltaic arrays The solar project is located at the Clean
Control facility in Warner Robins.
April 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Registration begins-8:30 a.m.
Kickstands up-10 a.m.
Ride ends-around 1 p.m.
The Warner Robins project and
associated power
purchase agreement
is the second joint
project of First
Every Day in USA is Armed Forces Appreciation Day
Century and Green Power EMC under
a pilot program aimed at deploying
solar installations in EMC service
areas throughout Georgia.
“Green Power EMC is actively pursuing efficient approaches to increasing
the supply of renewable energy to
Georgia’s EMC members,” says
Jeff Pratt, President of Green Power
EMC. “Distributed solar power generation can help supply a customer’s
energy needs with little ongoing
maintenance and no fuel expense.”
Approximately 4.4 million EMCmember households across Georgia,
including those in Flint Energies’
service area, will have more than
28,000 kilowatts of renewable energy
available to them through Green
Power EMC’s mix of biomass, solar
and low-impact hydro generation.
www.flintenergies.com
26C
Meet
Flint Energies:
Heather
Nipper
Working for you
A
Earth Day
pril 22 will once again be recognized as Earth Day across
the world. This year’s Earth Day
theme is Mobilize the Earth. If
you are interested in pledging to do
a green act in honor of Earth Day,
please visit act.earthday.org.
At Flint, we will plant a tree at one
of our offices as our green act and
will once again offer a special treat
to those members who visit any of
our offices on Friday, April 20.
What will you do to celebrate Earth
Day?
It’s festival
time!
Perry Dogwood Festival
Perry, April 14-15
www.perrydogwoodfestival.com
Lane Southern Orchards’
Spring Fling
Fort Valley, April 14
www.lanesouthernorchards.com
Mossy Creek Barnyard Festival
Perry, April 21-22
www.mossycreekfestival.com
Georgia Strawberry Festival
Reynolds, April 27-28
www.ga-strawberry.org
Robins Air Show
Robins Air Force Base, April 28-29
www.robins.af.mil/airshow
Georgia JugFest
Knoxville, May 19
www.gajugfest.com
Georgia Peach Festival
Byron and Fort Valley, June 1-9
www.worldslargestpeachcobbler.com
26D
Member Services Representative
Upatoi
F
Robins Air Show gives
back to the community
amilies in Middle Georgia show
overwhelming support for Robins
Air Force Base, and the ever-popular
air show is just one way the base
will give back to the community.
The 2012 Robins Air Show will be
April 28 and 29. Gates will be open
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with aerial
events kicking off at noon each day.
The air show will feature the U.S.
Navy Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron, which will
showcase its fleet of seven F/A-18
Hornets and its C-130 Hercules, affectionately known as "Fat Albert."
"The Robins Air Show is an opportunity to showcase military airpower,"
said Lt. Col. Dwayne Gray, 78th
Operations Support Squadron Director of Operations. "Middle Georgia
loves Robins, so the Air Force will
also gear this show to tell the history
and capabilities of the base."
Other aircraft scheduled to make
an appearance include the F-15,
C-23, C-27, C-130, JSTARS E-8C,
C-17 and C-5. Marine Light Attack
Helicopter Squadron 773, Marine
Aircraft Group 49, Detachment A,
will also display two UH-1 and two
AH-1 helicopters.
Scheduled performers include Patty
Wagstaff, a top U.S. medal winner,
World Aerobatic Champion and National Aviation Hall of Fame inductee;
the Commemorative Air Force
Red Tail Squadron, and the RISE
ABOVE Traveling Exhibit; Ace
Maker Air Shows; Liberty Jump
Team; Kyle Franklin with an L-21
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Super Cub, Tiger Air Shows and the
Sky Soldiers.
Families can also look forward to a
host of interactive displays, including
a miniature C-130 Hercules ride, the
Museum of Aviation's F-15 cockpit
simulator, other 360-degree motion
simulators, a monster truck, NASCAR
display, Perry Tennis Association's
mobile tennis court, and a Lincoln
Electric welding truck from AirGas
USA.
Also making an appearance will
be a number of community groups,
including the Macon-Bibb County
Emergency Management Agency
mobile command post; Meals on
Wheels-Houston County Council
on Aging, Central Georgia Med Reserve Corps, Perry Flight School,
Air Force Reserve, 78th Civil Engineer Group's Earth Day committee,
Robins Air Force Base Boy Scout
and Cub Scout Troop 220, Habitat
for Humanity of Houston County,
Network 56, Legal Shield, Georgia
Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center,
and the Middle Georgia Mounted
Search and Rescue Group (without
animals).
A fleet of 10 motorcycles from
Georgia’s Rolling Thunder Chapter
3 will also be on display, along with
information on POW/MIA and veterans issues.
Visit the air show and experience
two exciting days of flying fun at
Robins Air Force Base. To learn
more, visit www.robins.af.mil/airshow.
GEORGIA MAGAZINE