Stronger Together
It was so surreal and chaotic, and even though the linemen were working hard, long hours on restoring power, they all called to check on us to see if we needed anything.
For 86 years, Farmers Electric Cooperative has called the communities within our service territory home. We call it “home” because we see ourselves as more than an electric cooperative. We are the friends and neighbors who work and live alongside our members – in both good times and bad.
Tuesday, May 21 began like many other spring days: with an eye on volatile weather headed our way. Like any storm, our co-op staff gathered to review and communicate plans for possible power outages or post-storm clean up. Everyone was in the office due to the rain and when the sirens went off, we all went into the vault, our designated storm shelter.
My husband, Cliff, and daughter, Maddie, were at home in the basement when the storm passed. Cliff texted me and said, “the storm is here.” While I was in the vault, I got a call from my niece saying that my dad, who lives with my mom not far from me in town, was trapped in the basement and was really hurt and I needed to help him. She told me my parents’ house was 100% gone.
I had a message from Cliff that our house was trashed, but I didn’t even understand what that meant at that time. I told Trey Eddy - my neighbor and one of our linemen - that my dad was trapped and he, along with other linemen, jumped in trucks and headed to town. Work Order Accountant Marisa Pickrell and I followed in my car. The line crew had to stop a few times to throw trees out of our way and we couldn’t get close to our homes. It was so unreal because my parents have lived in that house my entire life, and I have lived a block over for the last 21 years, but on our way, I had to stop and think where their house was. It was unlike anything I have ever seen in my life.
Cliff had been headed to my parents’ when he stopped to dig a neighbor out of her basement. When he got to my parents, he held the wall off my dad while the linemen pulled him out. Then, they took off running to continue providing assistance. One lineman took off his sweatshirt to use it as a tourniquet for a lady’s leg. I took off my cardigan and used it as a wrap for around a neighbor lady’s head.
It was so surreal and chaotic, and even though the linemen were working hard, long hours on restoring power, they all called to check on us to see if we needed anything. I will honestly never be able to thank them enough. I have always known that I love working at the cooperative and that I think we have the best group around. I believe that even more now and feel like the closeness we had has become even stronger. It has been incredibly amazing to see so much good in so many people!
Farmers Electric is grateful for the mutual aid assistance from a neighboring electric co-op, Clarke Electric in Osceola, whose linemen helped the co-op begin the recovery process of replacing approximately 40 broken poles. In the cooperative spirit, they came ready to work a long day and with their help, widespread outages were resolved by Friday, May 24. Fortunately, there was no damage to our office or shop.
I am thankful my family members, and the families of our employees are all ok when others weren’t so fortunate. We have felt so much love and support from so many cooperatives across the state and from CIPCO.
We are so thankful for our cooperative families!