Everywhere else it’s just a Tuesday!

February 12, 2024

Laissez le bon temps rouler! Happy Mardi Gras! Also known as Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras is a vibrant celebration marked by exuberant parades, colorful costumes, and masquerade balls. Growing up in southern Louisiana, I spent years on the neutral ground of St. Charles Avenue watching countless floats and bands marched through the streets. Mardi Gras is a time for celebration and indulging, but most of all its being with your friends and family. That’s why this year Powerful wanted to share that spirit of celebration with the electric cooperatives of Louisiana.

The King of Cakes

The King Cake is the traditional dessert that is essential for any Mardi Gras party. It is an oval-shaped cake that symbolizes the unity of faiths. The cake is typically made of a rich, brioche dough and can be filled with cream cheese, fruit fillings, or cinnamon and is topped with a glaze and sprinkled with colored sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold, representing justice, faith, and power.

If you ever get the chance to try one of these Mardi Gras favorites, make sure you watch where you’re biting. Most King Cakes have a hidden plastic baby representing baby Jesus. The person who finds the baby in their slice is blessed with good luck for the coming year and is expected to bring the next King Cake to the party.

King Cakes make the perfect treat to get anyone in the Mardi Gras spirit, so I was so fortunate to be able to gift each cooperative with a Powerful King Cake!

Sharing the Love

Getting to visit all of the electric cooperatives in Louisiana is incredibly special for me, not only did I grow up on co-op lines, I also was so fortunate enough to work for the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives. Getting to see old friends from the cooperative world was so special for me.

I began my journey at Washington St. Tammany Electric Cooperative in Franklinton, Louisiana. Getting to see Ms. Coylean Schloegel who selected me as a youth tour participant over 8 years ago and bringing her just a little token of appreciation was a very full circle moment for me. I also visited with their IT department head, Mr. Steven McKenzie and shared how Powerful has tools that can enhance the web presence of any utility organization.

Mr. Steven Mckenzie with WST Electric in Franklinton, Louisiana.

I then got to visit DEMCO in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There, I was able to gift some Mardi Gras spirit to Mr. David Latona, Ms. Anne Hawes, and Ms. Toni Converse-Johnson.

From left to right: Ms. Toni Converse-Johnson, Ms. Anne Hawes, Daniel Bischoff, and Mr. David Latona with DEMCO

Before leaving to head to southern Louisiana, I was able to visit my old stomping grounds at the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives. I was able to see my mentors and share with them a symbol of our appreciation for working with Powerful on a website redesign.

I then proceeded to visit Pointe Coupee Electric, South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association, and Southwest Louisiana Electric Member Cooperative.

Venturing out

One thing I loved about getting on the road to these cooperatives was that I able to visit cooperatives that I’ve never been to before, one of those was Beauregard Electric Cooperative in DeRidder, Louisiana, and visit with one of the best communicators in the business. Ms. Kay Fox is one of the main team members that we at Powerful worked with when we redesigned BECI’s website.

Ms. Kay Fox receiving her Powerful king cake

I continued on to another great cooperative, Jeff Davis Electric Cooperative in Jennings, Louisiana. There I was able to visit with Ms. Skyler Hebert, Mr. Eric Gautreaux, and General Manager Mr. Mike Heinen. Jeff Davis also utilizes a Powerful website for their members and the team at JDEC had nothing but good things to say about our Powerful support team when they need to make updates on their website.

I rounded up my trip with visits to Concordia Electric Cooperative in Jonesville, Northeast Electric in Winnsboro, and Claiborne Electric Co-Op in Homer, Louisiana. Each of which I had never before been able to visit, and was a great treat to meet the folks that keep the lights on throughout my home state.

Final thoughts

As another Mardi Gras season passes, I’m reminded that the true spirit of Mardi Gras is celebrating with the people who are worth celebrating. For the team at Powerful, we celebrate those who work in electric cooperatives and utility organizations across the country. For me, this little token of appreciation was so small compared to the hard work of those folks who work countless hours to provide electricity and broadband to all the rural areas of my home state, the same rural areas that I grew up in and love to return to.