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www.midsouthsynergy.com18 Texas Co-op Power MID-SOUTH SYNERGY February 2016

MID-SOUTH SYNERGY

Look Sharp for SafetyMESSAGE FROM GENERAL MANAGER, KERRY KELTON

WE ALL WANT THE BEST FOR THE PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES—our family, friends, community and others. At Mid-South Synergy, that includes you, our members. It’s why we make safety a top priority, and why we devote time and energy to making our staff and community residents aware of how to stay safe around electricity. Our modern way of life depends on this resource, but electricity can be dangerous or even deadly, so we encourage everyone to know how to use electricity safely.

For instance, if you’re working with tall ladders—cleaning gutters, trimming trees or undertaking other projects outside—we remind you to look up and stay a safe distance away from overhead power lines, especially those connected to your home.

If a project involves digging, be sure to call 811 a few working days in advance to have your underground utility lines marked before you put shovel to the ground. This will keep you from damaging any electric, gas, water, cable, sewer or other lines that are buried on your property. One

phone call could prevent inconvenient outages and possible injury.

Help children understand the importance of staying away from electric utility equipment. Teach them never to climb trees or fly kites near power lines.

Know how to prepare for and stay safe during and after storms and natural disasters that could leave behind electrical hazards, such as downed power lines and submerged electrical devices. We don’t want anyone to take a chance that could end in tragedy. We encourage you to visit SafeElectricity.org, where you’ll find lifesaving information presented in videos, interactive games for children, online teaching resources and much more.

The United States has the safest, most reliable electric system in the world, and with it comes extensive responsibility. Cooperatives value our members’ safety and well-being, and Mid-South Synergy will continue working to educate everyone on important safety considerations.Climbing trees can be irresistible to children,

so be sure they know to check for power lines before climbing.

www.midsouthsynergy.com20 Texas Co-op Power MID-SOUTH SYNERGY February 2016

ince our inception in 1940, Mid-South Synergy has always strived to provide a quality service at a reasonable price, bringing vital

services to increase both the quality of life and economic health in our service area. Simply put, our main goal is looking out for our members, and our community. Cooperatives around the world operate according to a core set of principles. These principles, along with the cooperative purpose of improving quality of life for their members, make electric cooperatives different from other electric utilities. Number seven of these cooperative principles is “Concern for Community”. This principle states, “While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.” “The seventh cooperative principle, is the basis of everything we do here at Mid-South Synergy,” said Mid-South CEO Kerry Kelton.

Over time, Mid-South Synergy has developed a passion for giving back to our community and stimulating economic growth and development. Our goal is to continue to make our service territory better for our members each and every day. Mid-South Board Vice-President,

James Morrison, has served on our Board of Directors since 1996 representing District 5 in Walker County. James has seen our service territory grow tremendously over the past 20 years and is excited about the direction that Mid-South Synergy is moving.Growing up in Beaumont, TX James graduated from South Park High school, where he later attended Sam Houston State University where he majored in Agriculture with a minor in Geography. “I love being able to serve my community by being a Board Member for Mid-South Synergy,” said Morrison. “[Giving back] means everything. I think a big part of what a person does is giving back and being a board member is an excellent opportunity to give back and protect and to look after the needs of our members and the people we serve.” One of the things James appreciates the most about our service territory is the fact that we go “around the cities.” For the most part, we serve rural areas and the people in these communities are “just the best.” Our members are “kind-hearted, they are very thoughtful, and they look after their community just like we do,” says Morrison. “I think what I enjoy the most about being a board member is the ability to give back to this community. [Being a board member] gives me the ability to represent people that maybe can’t or don’t represent themselves, and allows us to make their life just a little bit better.”

KERRY KELTON

DENNIS MCWHORTER

L TO R: JAMES MORRISON, KELI CALL, WALLY VILLAREAL

www.midsouthsynergy.com February 2016 MID-SOUTH SYNERGY Texas Co-op Power 21

One of the focus points for our Co-op is stimulating economic growth and development in our communities. Mid-South Synergy stimulates economic growth in our communities by trying to work with developers to keep development coming. “It’s a pretty common fact that if your community isn’t growing, it’s dying,” says Morrison. We need to make sure that we keep quality development coming to our service territory and our communities. It’s important to make it incumbent for people to want to come in here and develop. If we work on this and allow for quality development, we will have a community that will be a better place for people to live and want to move to. It will allow our communities to continue to grow and allow us to continue to provide quality services with our water and electricity. Economic development is key to the growth and survival of our community.

Mid-South Synergy realizes that the future of our communities lies in the hands of our youth. To ensure a bright future for the cooperative, we offer multiple programs to help further the education of the youth in our area and provide them with life-changing opportunities. “Two programs come to mind right off the bat, both of which are near and dear to my heart.” Number one is our scholarship program. We offer $1000 scholarships to as many as fifteen graduating seniors per year. “I’ve just put

two children through college and I know how expensive it can be,” said Morrison. “It’s been a really good thing to be able to give money back to the community and to the youth of our community who want to extend and further their education. “It’s really rewarding when I run into past scholarship recipients and hear how they’re doing in school and to see what they’re working towards and to see them excel. It’s just so exciting to hear and see these stories, because we know we’re making a difference and we’re doing some good.” The other program that Mid-South Synergy sponsors is the Government-In-Action Youth Tour, where we send four students, high school juniors or seniors, on an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. to go and look how our federal government works. They get to tour around and see some of the sights and they also get a feel of how our government works and it’s a really inspiring thing. There are many people that can truly say that the Youth Tour trip was a turning point in their life. “We think these programs are a real investment in the youth in our communities that we serve,” says board member Dennis McWhorter.

Mid-South Synergy is constantly looking towards the future to see how we can better our cooperative and the lives of our members. “We were one of the first cooperatives to install and fully deploy advanced metering systems. We were also one of the first cooperatives to install a SCADA system, which allows us to

electronically control our electric utility grid”, said Kelton. We have diversified our power source. We have a really unique community solar farm in Bedias, TX, which is one of the first in our state and even in the country. “It’s a really neat opportunity for the people in our community and in our more rural areas to participate in some green energy, without having to go through the hassle of installing a solar panel on their roof and all of the maintenance that goes with that,” said James. We try to stay on the cutting edge with energy efficiency programs. We offer home energy audits to help you ensure your home is as energy efficient as possible.

“All-in-all, I’d like to see the people of our communities have a good quality of life,” said Morrison. It’s important for people to stay in our communities and be able to have a life-sustaining career and be able to work in our communities. “I think it’s important for people to have a good place to go to work and have a good environment to live in, good health care, good schools, and most importantly, good water and electricity.” It’s always been Mid-South’s goal to keep the lights coming on, today, tomorrow, and every day to come.

L TO R: TROY MORRIS, JAMES MORRISON

FOR MORE ON OUR STORY ON COMMUNITY, PLEASE VISIT

WWW.MIDSOUTHSYNERGY.COM

hen your lights go out, day or night, we are the ones you call. Our crews, without hesitation, jump into action, and work as hard and as quickly as possible to restore your power to get life back to normal for you and your family. At Mid-South Synergy, we pride ourselves on outstanding member service and strive to play a key role in our community. Our crews interact with our members on a daily basis, as we work for you,

our members. We want to put a face to the name; a face to the company; a face to your electric provider. Our commitment to community is why Mid-South Synergy is #YOURCREW.

This month we are featuring Clayten Owens. Clayten is one of our many talented foremen on staff here at Mid-South Synergy. Clayten has spent the past eight years working for us out of our Huntsville office. Clayten sets an example day in and day out of what it means to provide great service to our members. He looks out for our younger lineman and shows them the ropes and helps them excel at their job. He has a passion for being involved in and giving back to our community and providing the best service he possibly can to our members. Not only is Clayten proud to be a Mid-South Synergy foreman, he is proud to be #YOURCREW.

W

Spotlighting the linemen in your community who keep the lights on

Tell us about growing up.I’m originally from Huntsville, TX. I now, live in Pine Prairie, which is just a little bit north of Huntsville. I graduated high school from Huntsville High School. I was on the swim team at Huntsville; I swam from elementary school, all through high school.

When did you become interested in line work?I always kind of knew a little bit about the industry. My grandpa was a lineman and retired from [line work]. I also knew a few of the guys who worked out of the Mid-South Huntsville office, but I really wasn’t interested in it until right after I graduated high school.

How did you find out about Mid-South Synergy?I heard about Mid-South Synergy when I was real young, when it was still called Mid-South Electric Cooperative. My family has been on Mid-South’s lines since [the company] started. I knew a lot of the guys who worked here like Paul

and Jeff; they went to school with my folks. I graduated high school a little bit early, so I actually started working for Mid-South Synergy early in 2007 and I’ve been here ever since.

What are some of the things you like about Mid-South Synergy?I like that I get to work in the community I was raised in. A lot of the places we go, we know the people and have known them for some time. Why is being a lineman so important to you?Being a lineman to me is important because, even though people don’t even know when we’re actually working on their lines, or even affected by us, we’re still out there helping them during holidays, bad weather, and making sure people get to stay comfortable with their families, even if it means we get cold, or wet.

What are some of your hobbies?I’m really into hunting and fishing. I love being outside.

Where is your favorite fishing spot?My favorite fishing spot is probably, most of the Trinity River.

What is your favorite local place to eat?That would have to be my house or someone else’s house I know –nothing beats home cooking.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where you go and why?If I could go anywhere, I’d probably go to Alaska. I’ve never been there. We were supposed to go there one summer on vacation and our RV broke down in the middle of Canada and I wasn’t really a big fan of Canada, so I’d like to make it back out to Alaska one day.

FOR MORE ON CLAYTEN, PLEASE VISIT

WWW.MIDSOUTHSYNERGY.COM

2016YOUTH TOURAPPLICATIONSARE HEREWHO IS ELIGIBLE?• Parent or Legal Guardian must be a MSS member

• Student must reside with Parent/Legal Guardian who is MSS member

• Student must be a high school junior or senior in 2016

REQUIREMENTS:• Complete Application

• Video Submission on the topic “How would day-to-daylife be different without electricity?”

• Picture - to be used for publication

Applications are due by Feb. 29, 2016 to our Navasota office

For more information about Youth Tour, visit Midsouthsynergy.com/YouthTour, YouthTour.org and TexasYouthTour.com

or contact Erin Hughes at ehughes@midsouthsynergy.com.

Texas Co-op PowerMid-South Synergy EditionFebruary, 2016

Editor-in-ChiefMike McDougald

Managing EditorEric Hubbard

ContributorsSpencer CogburnMartin Hooper

Special Thanks:Texas Electric CooperativesMid-South Synergy Board of DirectorsNRECAMid-South Synergy ManagementJames Morrison

Mid-South Synergy7625 Hwy 6Navasota, TX 77868

tel: 936-825-5100toll free: 888-525-6677fax: 936-825-5166

www.midsouthsynergy.com

Find this and more delicious recipes online at TEXASCOOPPOWER.COM

ST E PA N P O P OV | I STO C K .CO M

Recipe of the MonthCheesecake withDark ChocolateCRUST1 cup crushed nuts1 cup flourCooking oil as needed3/4 cup brown sugar1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1. Combine all ingredients and press into 9-by-9 inch baking dish. Bake 30 minutes at 325 degrees, then cool.

FILLING1 cup heavy cream1 package cream cheese (8 oz.)1 cup sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract3 squares dark baking chocoloate

1. With an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until it thickens.2. In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.3. Grate dark chocoloate into mixture, reserving some for topping.4. Spoon mixture over crust, smooth with back of spoon and top with reserved grated chocolate.5. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

2016YOUTH TOURAPPLICATIONSARE HEREWHO IS ELIGIBLE?• Parent or Legal Guardian must be a MSS member

• Student must reside with Parent/Legal Guardian who is MSS member

• Student must be a high school junior or senior in 2016

REQUIREMENTS:• Complete Application

• Video Submission on the topic “How would day-to-daylife be different without electricity?”

• Picture - to be used for publication

Applications are due by Feb. 29, 2016 to our Navasota office

For more information about Youth Tour, visit Midsouthsynergy.com/YouthTour, YouthTour.org and TexasYouthTour.com

or contact Erin Hughes at ehughes@midsouthsynergy.com.