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As a not-for-profit, customer-owned corporation, Glades Electric Cooperative is dedicated to providing our members with the best service at the lowest possible price. GEC is governed by a nine member Board of Trustees elected at an annual meeting of all members/owners. Yes, everyone who receives electricity from GEC is not only a customer, but is actually a part owner of the company. The Board sets the policies and direction of the company and names the Chief Executive Officer (General Manager) who, in turn, is responsible for appointing the management staff to operate and maintain the system. GEC's General Manager is L. T. (Tommy) Todd. The current Board has envisioned an extremely aggressive path for the coming years. Their direction demands that the 67 dedicated employees of GEC daily seek to improve service to all consumers. To accomplish this, the Cooperative is constantly striving to reach new heights in every area of service. "Neighbors working for Neighbors" is not just a catchy slogan at GEC. We sincerely believe that our member/owners deserve the best power quality, the best customer service and the best response in an emergency. For the past eight years, the Cooperative has implemented a Strategic Planning Process. The plan addresses all areas of the cooperative's business and sets aggressive goals and objectives aimed at improving every aspect of the company. That process has led to the development of a system-wide Restoration Plan to upgrade the quality of electric service. This plan will continue until all members have the quality of service they deserve. For those members in the areas where the Restoration Plan is completed, favorable results have been obvious. A recent Consumer Attitude Survey conducted by a national organization indicated that consumer satisfaction with the service at GEC has shown substantial improvement over the last several years. The next area, Customer Service, is a key element of a successful cooperative business. GEC has strived to improve this area by having employees personally answer the phones. Friendliness, courtesy and prompt service are expected by and provided to all the members. Since so many calls relate to monthly billing, the Cooperative offers several billing programs to simplify the payment of monthly bills. This commitment to customer satisfaction also leads the Cooperative into other areas involving its members. Glades Electric Cooperative is committed to the communities we serve. Although providing quality electric service is our primary business, being a partner in quality-of-life issues in our service area is a basic principle of the cooperative way of doing business. We are actively involved in Chambers of Commerce, Economic/Industrial Development Councils, youth programs, fairs, schools and athletics in each of the counties served. In 1998, after recognizing that there are many people whose needs are not being met through traditional public agencies, the Cooperative organized The Glades Electric Charitable Trust. With contributions made by members, the Trust provides funds to deserving individuals or programs in communities served by GEC. In its first seven years, the Trust has dispersed $292,650. Glades Electric Cooperative has come a long way since those rural pioneers met in 1944. Those founders who wanted only electric pumps, refrigerators and maybe even Christmas lights surely never imagined they were laying the foundation for Glades Electric Cooperative as it is known today. Now, 62 years later, we're working hard to continue their legacy by striving to be "Neighbors Working for Neighbors". Annual Meeting - The Annual Business Meeting of Glades Electric Cooperative is held on a Saturday in March and all members are invited to attend this Annual Meeting. There, members have an opportunity to meet the trustees, management staff and employees of GEC. The business session includes reports from each of the officers, a complete review of the financial status of the Cooperative and the General Manager's report. All members are eligible to participate in the election of Trustees. Also each member receives a door prize and is eligible to win other prizes drawn from the registration slips of those in attendance. We encourage all GEC members to attend and participate. Where we get our power - Glades Electric Cooperative purchases wholesale power from Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. SECI is a generation and transmission cooperative headquartered in Tampa, Florida. SECI was organized in 1948 to provide bulk supplies of electricity to GEC and nine other cooperatives located throughout peninsular Florida. Nearly 1.6 million individuals and businesses in 46 counties rely on Seminole Electric and the ten member/owner cooperatives for their electric service. Seminole's primary generating facility is located on the St. John's River in Putnam County, about 50 miles south of Jacksonville. It consists of two 625-megawatt coal-fired units. The Cooperative has a combustion turbine 500 megawatt plant in Hardee County; it owns 4.4 megawatts of a Crystal River 3 Nuclear Plant and has long term capacity and reserve contracts with other electric generating companies. Seminole is also building a peaking plant in Hardee County and a 600 mw coal unit in Palatka.