Vol75-6 June 2025
Member newsletter for Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative
About the cooperative • Rising costs, smart choices • Reliability you can count on • Investing in our people • Powering community, not just electricity • Powering forward • Financials • SOS tracker • Community calendar
POWERING COMMUNITY, NOT JUST ELECTRICITY
Powering forward means more than energy—it means showing up for our neighbors. In 2024, our employees volunteered for a number of local organizations, participated in environmental cleanups, and hosted fundraising efforts for local causes—from food banks to school competitions.
- Delivered 3,102 pounds of food to the Southern Maryland Food Bank thanks to donations by SMECO employees.
- Held a fund-raiser and donated $60,000 among three local hospitals: CalvertHealth Medical Center, University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, and MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital.
Sonja Cox at Girl Power Camp
Food drive donation
- Hosted the 30th annual regional MATHCOUNTS competition.
- Received a $10,000 contribution from CoBank to award to local organizations that SMECO supported with matching funds: $2,500 went to American Red Cross of the National Capital and Greater Chesapeake Region, A Community That Shares (ACTS), Patuxent Habitat for Humanity, and the Clements Cuties Foundation.
- Awarded four scholarships to high school students who live in the cooperative’s service area; bringing the total number of scholarships awarded since 1993 to 128.
- Worked with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to save an osprey in distress on a utility pole.
- Contributed close to $200,000 between more than 300 separate local organizations, which serve the community for children and youth,
civic and community development, arts and culture, education, the environment, and health and welfare. - Hosted the elementary math challenge, where more than 900 local elementary students tested their math knowledge.
- Contributed $284,900 to the Southern Maryland Tri-County Community Action Committee through the Members Helping Members program, offering assistance to members facing difficulty paying their utility bills. The funds are made possible by generous donations from cooperative members and matched by SMECO.
The cooperative also supported youth programs, community safety initiatives, and educational outreach focused on energy conservation and renewable technologies. SMECO is more than a utility provider—we are a part of this community.
In addition to supporting the Southern Maryland community, SMECO crews traveled south to help fellow cooperatives restore power after a devastating blow from Hurricane Helene. This storm made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida on the evening of September 26 as a Category 4 hurricane and impacted eight states on its path of destruction.
