2007 Year in Review

January
DEMCO sent ten employees to Vinita, Oklahoma for 12 days where they assisted Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative in restoring power to 25,000 of its cooperative members after a devastating ice storm moved through the Midwest causing massive damage and widespread power outages.

February
DEMCO continued its commitment to our local communities by sponsoring the 2nd Annual 5K Big Apple Run benefiting the Louisiana Resource Center for Educators.  Representatives from the cooperative cooked and served a free jambalaya meal to race participants while several employees also ran the race.

March
Local high school students Shay Kleinpeter of Redemptorist High School, Josh Knight of Zachary High School, Michael Polozola of Central High School, and James Kane of West Feliciana each won an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C.  The four were winners in the 2007 DEMCO Rural Electric Youth Tour essay contest.

April
Livingston Parish director Danny Berthelot, Tangipahoa Parish director Eugene Traylor, West Feliciana director Freddy Metz, East Baton Rouge Parish director Randy Lorio, and East Feliciana Parish director Amanda "Mandy" Stroughter returned to the DEMCO Board of Directors as each was re-elected for a three-year term.

May
DEMCO served as a sponsor for the 13th annual Dream Day Foundation Fishin' Galore event held at the 3 Bar E Ranch in Clinton, Louisiana.  DEMCO employees contributed $48,500 through payroll deductions, all of which benefited St. Jude?s Children's Research Hospital.

June
DEMCO staff, along with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, partnered together to develop a comprehensive succession plan dedicated to mapping the future of DEMCO.  The plan was designed to assist DEMCO in combating any adverse effects created by impending vacancies created by an experienced and retiring workforce.

July
In an effort to communicate information regarding hurricane season to its members, DEMCO representatives participated in a live remote broadcast with WJBO radio, held at the newly-opened Oak Point Fresh Market in Watson. 

August
Record setting temperatures caused utility usage to soar as DEMCO sets a new peak demand of 518 megawatts.  The high temperatures, along with a catastrophic failure of a transformer at the Head of Island Substation, led to power outages in lower Livingston and Ascension parishes over a three-day period.

September
The Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives presented DEMCO with a check in the amount of $14,990.29 from funds left over from relief donations made in the aftermath of the storms of 2005.  DEMCO distributed the monies to local fire departments throughout the cooperative's service area who worked tirelessly to assist those ravaged by the storms.

October
DEMCO employees displayed their care and concern for a fellow cooperative as they donated $1,500 to Tri-County Electric Cooperative in Rushford, Minnesota after the electric utility suffered devastating floods weeks earlier.

November
The Vietnam Memorial replica wall visited Central in preparation of a week of patriotic activities leading up to Veteran's Day.  DEMCO employees lined the parade route in a moving salute, which included five bucket trucks brandishing American flags, as the exhibit moved along Wax Road near the cooperative's headquarters. 

December
 Jeff Kilpatrick completed his first year as CEO and General Manager at DEMCO calling the year "one of the most rewarding of my entire career."