CEO Karen Moore
As we prepare to celebrate Father’s Day this month, it’s occurred to me that those of us in the electric utility industry owe the dads of the world a debt of gratitude. Outside of the normal reasons they deserve our appreciation, in many ways, dads are the unsung heroes of the energy efficiency movement.
If you were like me, you grew up hearing your dad remind you not to leave the front door open so we “didn’t air condition the entire neighborhood.” My brothers and I could hardly step out of a room for more than a few minutes without dad constantly reminding us to turn off a light or ceiling fan. And we better not get caught standing with the refrigerator door open while we decided what to eat.
Our dad (and mom), as I’m sure yours did too, understood the correlation between how much energy we used at home and the amount owed for the power bill each month. Electricity wasted was money wasted. And saving electricity in our home was much more effective when everyone worked together.
I can’t help but think that in our modern culture, where electronic devices play a role in just about every aspect of our lives, this is a harder lesson to teach young people. Electricity powers so many of our daily routines, the thought of consciously making an effort to use less of it might be hard to comprehend.
That doesn’t make the lesson any less important. And it’s never too early to start having those conversations with your kids. Baldwin EMC was reminded of that this past spring, when we were invited to visit several schools around our county for career days, safety demos and LED Lucy’s energy efficiency presentations. The students we encountered during these visits were young, but remarkably receptive to everything we set out to teach them. (Check out page 7 for more on our school visits.) Our hope is that we planted seeds in these young students that will reap an energy-efficient harvest.
After all, it worked pretty well for my dad.
Before I wind up my column for the month, I’d like to reflect on one more thing my dad taught me the value of. That’s time. This month, if you are blessed to still have your father or a father figure in your life, please take the time to let him know how he’s made a difference for you. I’ll be doing the same.
Happy Father’s Day to all dads who are a light in their children’s lives. You are appreciated.