I have worked through several hurricanes, tropical storms, floods, and an ice storm during my career of over 30 years at the cooperative. Throughout that time, I have never seen such an outpouring of support and compassion during storm restoration efforts as I saw during TS Fred,” said Terry Mullen, Manager of Marketing and Communications.
Damages from storms like TS Fred can be unpredictable, causing extended power outages for some members. The damage caused by TS Fred took cooperative employees and 43 mutual aid employees over 48 hours to repair. During and since Tropical Storm Fred, WFEC linemen received a lot of positive feedback for a job well done restoring power. Accepting compliments does not come easy for many people. When the words of praise are for doing your job, it is much more difficult. Especially compliments for a job you have chosen as a career and that you enjoy doing. Some people struggle with how to respond and reply when they receive praise, regardless of the situation. Most of the time the best and simplest thing to do is just say thank you!
“The overwhelming majority of the members that commented on social media were very positive. Members expressed appreciation for the work linemen were doing in adverse weather conditions. Several offered prayers and well wishes for the linemen’s safety as they worked as quickly and safely as possible to restore their power,” said Mullen.
We’re grateful for our wonderful community. West Florida Electric Cooperative (WFEC) employees are thankful to be in such an incredible place. We are fortunate to live in the same places we work, which makes our ties to our communities that much stronger.
We serve our community by being an essential service. Our employees are dedicated professionals who genuinely care about our cooperative’s members, are dedicated to serving others, and making sure the cooperative can provide safe, reliable and affordable electricity to its members. During times like the recent Tropical Storm Fred or more catastrophic storms like Hurricane Michael, our employees work hard to restore power to members as quickly but safely as possible.
On behalf of everyone at WFEC we’re thankful for your membership, and we appreciate all of the support and kind words of encouragement our members have shared during this storm season.
“With all of the descension and divisiveness in our world today it was very refreshing to witness everyone come together and express their gratitude in such an overwhelming fashion and it is greatly appreciated,”
said Mullen.