Trustee Talk -- James N. "Jimmy" Kirkland, District 8

Jimmy Kirkland has seen West Florida Electric Cooperative from several points of view. After growing up in WFEC's service area, he became a Co-op member himself in 1969, "as soon as I became old enough," he said. In 1971, he began a 19-year career as a WFEC lineman, then was elected District 6 trustee on the Co-op's board in 1996. Kirkland and his wife, Joy, live at Smith Crossroads, north of Bonifay, and have three daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing and spending time with two grandsons and a granddaughter. Here, he shares some thoughts as a WFEC member, former employee and trustee.

In making decisions as a board member, how do you draw on your experience as a lineman?
"I believe it gives me an edge. When we need to discuss situations involving storm damage, substations, a part of the Co-op's system, equipment and so forth, somebody who wasn't familiar with these things would have to learn about them, but I already know what we're talking about."

Now that a governor-appointed commission has recommended Florida legislators consider deregulation of the state's wholesale electricity industry, how is WFEC's board preparing for a competitive market?
"We're trying to stay up with all the situations to avoid having problems if deregulation comes about. We hope all the kinks have been worked out by the time it happens here. As rural as WFEC is, as scattered as our customers are, investor-owned utilities aren't going to want to pick them up. Other companies can come in and promise better rates, but they can't do any better than WFEC can. They'd have the same situation we have - It costs more to serve rural areas."

What do you see in WFEC's future?
"We'll be into more services than we currently provide. We could offer a package deal, with electric, gas, Internet and satellite TV, a variety of services rolled into one - Similar to the way, when I recently had a phone service installed, they already had the equipment for cable TV hookup on the same line. This would be great for our customers, because everyone would rather pay one bill. To some degree, we offer this convenience now."

Is there anything else you'd like WFEC's members to know?

"I just want to remind them that they elected their board to make decisions for them, and I think we're doing the best that can be done. We've worked to cut expenses and reduce the budget, and we haven't had a rate increase in six years. So, we'll work to keep going in that direction."