After more than a year of community event cancellations due to the pandemic, it felt great to be out in the community again in June - and for a good cause! Throughout the month, GUC employees stepped up and donated food items and brain power to design a pirate ship for the “UNITED WE CAN” food drive and sculpture contest organized by the United Way of Pitt County.  

GUC participated in honor of the American Public Power Association’s Month of Giving, in which the Association challenged all public power utilities to give back to their communities and share about their efforts on social media. 

GUC’s United Way Committee recruited volunteers to help design and build the pirate ship, with a theme of “Powering the Pirates.” This entry name and theme was chosen to symbolize the reliable services that GUC provides to our community through electric, natural gas, water, and wastewater. The ships cannons were made out of couplings and PVC pipe provided by our operating departments. The green bean cans were chosen as the foundation of the ship in honor of our own name and hometown, Greenville. 

The hard work and weeks of preparation by our employees paid off by earning “best in show” and “community choice” trophies at the event on Friday, June 18th. There was a lot of stiff competition, but the real winner was the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. GUC’s ship contained 376 cans of green beans, 12 cans of tuna, 250 bottles of water, 20 boxes of oatmeal, 9 boxes of pasta, 36 bags of goldfish snacks, and 108 rolls of toilet paper. The total weight of all the participating sculptures that evening was 4,762 pounds of product, which will provide 3,968 meals for local families experiencing food-insecurity. 

Big thank you to the following employees who made this happen: Tammy Forrest (Customer Relations), Emily Garner (Public Information), JoEllen Gay (Wastewater Treatment Plant, WWTP), Lin Hall (IT), Kristen Jarman (WWTP), Cynthia Langley (Finance), Lou Norris (General Manager’s Officer), Molly Ortiz (Finance), Lena Previll (HR), Dillon Wade (Gas), Amanda Wall (Finance), Chip Wall (Gas), Erin Walton (Public Information), Brian Weigand (Finance), Jay Wetherington (WWTP), and LeAnne Wetherington (Customer Relations).