CEO’s Message – March 2026

Rounding Up To Do Good

When it comes to cooperative programs, Operation Round Up is near and dear to my heart.

The generosity of members who round up their monthly bills to the next dollar allows Wiregrass Electric Cooperative to give back to the communities we serve. For a few cents each month, this cooperative and its members really do some good.

Since the program started locally in 2015, we have helped equip volunteer firefighters and provided emergency assistance for victims of local disasters. We covered the costs of library renovations and bought furniture for classrooms. We purchased specialty medical equipment for premature babies. We funded a facility to house those fighting addiction.

We gave college money to local students, including some who hope to become lineworkers.

And we rewarded people who are heroes, whether they see themselves that way or not. You can read about the 2025 Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass in this edition. Our Silent Heroes partner, WTVY, profiles the winner each month on its broadcast. These individuals and groups of volunteers set examples for all of us to follow. The $1,000 awarded to recipients is typically used to further their good deeds.

We — the Operation Round Up Foundation Board, the cooperative and its members — have done all of this together.

The cooperative could not have given any of these grants, scholarships, and recognitions without the support of members willing to help others without expecting anything in return. Nor could we do any of this without the support of our Wiregrass Board of Trustees and the volunteers they appoint to oversee Operation Round Up funds.

WEC’s 9-member Operation Round Up Foundation Board, currently led by David Hall, reviews applications to determine how the money collected should be spent. Not only are they volunteers serving on a board, but they are also members of Wiregrass Electric.

While our main focus is to provide our members with reliable electricity as affordably as possible, we believe that giving back to the communities we serve is also important.

Depending on the member’s bill, the monthly Operation Round Up donation may be 50 cents or only 10 cents. Even if it’s 99 cents each month, that comes to less than $12 a year. It’s a little bit to give as an individual member for what the Wiregrass gets in return. Since its inception, Operation Round Up has distributed roughly $1.8 million.

Currently, the cooperative is accepting applications for scholarships funded with Operation Round Up dollars. Last year, the cooperative awarded 22 scholarships, including 3 scholarships to students interested in becoming lineworkers and planning to attend the Wallace Community College lineworker program. Students in both public and private schools from all over the Wiregrass — Cottonwood to Slocomb and Ashford to Wicksburg — received money to go towards college. We believe investing in the futures of our young people is 1 of the better uses of these funds.

With Operation Round Up, members of Wiregrass Electric Cooperative can give back to their communities and their neighbors as a group in a way they might not be able to do individually. The few cents a member gives each month by rounding up their electric bill can do so much more when combined with the contributions of other members doing the same thing. We are proud to give our members that opportunity and the success of the program to create real change in people’s lives, whether through a community grant, a scholarship, or a Silent Hero award.

Operation Round Up goes to the very heart of what we are as a cooperative. We care about our communities and do what we can as a cooperative to ensure a strong local economy and opportunities for our members.

We participate in our communities because, like our members, we live here. The Wiregrass is our home, and we’re proud to have a role in making it a better place.