Skip to main content

Trico will be closing at 2:30 p.m. on December 24, and remain closed through December 25. Happy Holidays!

Tag: volunteer

CEO Column: Giving Back is the Cooperative Way

Written by mlitwicki on . Posted in Latest News, Livewire.

CEO Column: Giving Back is the Cooperative Way

December 1, 2024

The holiday season brings a spirit of generosity and compassion. It’s a time to reflect on our many blessings and uplift those in need. While this is certainly a special time of year, cooperatives like Trico are deeply rooted in giving back to their local communities year-round.

Our mission is making a difference in the communities we serve by providing our Members cost-effective and sustainable energy solutions. At Trico, we believe that connection powers our purpose.

This connection brings us together as a community – with the understanding that we can do more together than we could do by ourselves. That’s why we organize food and clothing drives and volunteer regularly at the Sahuarita Food Bank to make a positive, meaningful impact for our community. You, our Members, help us to support the community. Trico’s Operation Round Up program is made possible through Members’ participation in “rounding up” electric bills to the next dollar amount. Your generous contributions support Trico’s Power Grants program, which provides $70,000 per year to local charitable organizations and community services.

Another way Trico gives back is by investing in tomorrow’s leaders. Through the Trico Foundation scholarship program, we aim to empower students for a brighter future. Since 1985, the Trico Foundation has awarded over $4.7 million – benefiting over 778 students – in scholarships to Members and their families. When we invest in our local youth, we strengthen the fabric of our community. In the most recent school year, Trico provided $570,000 in scholarships, making it the largest electric cooperative scholarship program in the country.

As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, we believe in giving credit where credit is due – to our Members who are also the owners of Trico. One of the ways we do this is through Membership Equity. Because Trico operates at cost, we give cash back to our Members rather than outside investors or shareholders. This year, the Board of Directors approved the retirement of $4.5 million in Membership Equity.

Our Members guide every decision we make and you are the reason our co-op exists. We are truly thankful for our Members and work hard to provide you with excellent service and great value. This holiday season, we hope you’re proud to be part of a community‑focused co-op that puts people before profits.

On behalf of Trico’s Board of Directors, employees, and myself, we hope you have a joyful and blessed holiday season.

To see more ways Trico gives back throughout the year, take a look at our 12 Days of Giving here.

Continue reading

Trico’s 12 Days of Giving

Written by mlitwicki on . Posted in Latest News.

Trico’s 12 Days of Giving

December 12, 2024

Community is at the heart of what we do. As a nonprofit electric co-op, Trico strives to go beyond simply providing electricity – we want to make our communities a better place to live for all. This holiday season, we are highlighting our 12 Days of Giving and sharing ways we helped to make a difference in the communities we serve.

  1. POWER Grants: The Trico Electric Charitable Trust provides $70K in funding every year to nonprofits serving our Members with essential needs. To date, we have provided $910K in funding to over 80 nonprofits.
  2. Scholarships: The Trico Foundation provides $500K in funding every year for Trico Members and their dependents to pursue higher education. To date, the Trico Foundation has awarded over $4.7 million to over 770 students.
  3. Sahuarita Food Bank: Trico employees volunteered over 90 hours at the Sahuarita Food Bank to help provide food to their clients in need.
  4. All the Way to the Border Clean Up: Trico employees helped pick up trash along a 44-mile stretch of Arizona Highway 286 from Three Points to Sasabe.
  5. Marana Food Bank: Trico employees hosted several food drives throughout the year and provided monetary donations to the Marana Food Bank.
  6. Salvation Army Angel Tree: Trico employees sponsored 75 children to provide them with much deserved toys and gifts for the holiday season.
  7. SARSEF Fair: Trico sponsored the Southern Arizona Research Science and Engineering Foundation’s (SARSEF) annual Science Fair. We provided $5,000 as well as employee judges for the fair.
  8. Community Giving: Trico gave over $29,000 back to our communities through donations and sponsorships. These include schools, children’s sports teams, educational programs, charity events, and more.
  9. 4-H: Trico has supported local 4-H youth for 45 years through the Pima County Fair.
  10. Beacon Group: Trico has contracted with Beacon Group since 2012 to provide jobs for disabled individuals at Trico’s headquarters in Marana.
  11. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Trico’s DEI efforts supported local groups with donations and sponsorships that included Tucson Pride, Tucson Juneteenth Festival, and African American Museum of Southern Arizona.
  12. Cooperative Family Fund: Trico and its employees provided $3,975 in donations to the Cooperative Family Fund, an organization providing support for children of electric cooperative employees when they experience the loss of a parent employed at a cooperative.

Continue reading

Light Up Navajo Humbling Experience

Written by mlitwicki on . Posted in Latest News, Livewire.

Light Up Navajo is humbling experience for Trico lineworkers

August 1, 2024

For the second year in a row, Trico sent line crews to a remote area of the Navajo Nation to participate in the Light Up Navajo program. This mutual-aid program began in 2019 to extend electricity to homes without power.

Trico lineworkers Anthony Anaya, Bryan English, Joe Tsethlikai, Martin Mares, Matt Ward and Troy Mead spent two weeks working in Naschitti, New Mexico to bring power to those in need.

“I’ll go back every year until everyone has electricity or I’m dead,” English said. “I’m happy to give back.”

Trico’s crews built 3.5 miles of line and put up 40 poles to feed power to nine homes. “The conditions were not great,” Tsethlikai said. “We had to use special pressure diggers. It took one to two hours to dig one hole. For the people to live there without power is mind blowing.”

Tsethlikai said they met an 80-year-old Vietnam War veteran who never had electricity except for his time in the Marines. 

“This is history in the making,” Tsethlikai said. “This is generational. We’re not just bringing power to these nine homes. This is something that is going to be there forever. Their children and future generations will benefit from what we’re doing.”

Brian Heithoff, Trico CEO/GM said, “The work to provide the residents of the Navajo Nation a reliable source of energy is vital to providing them a brighter future, and reflects the co-op spirit that helped electrify Trico’s service territory starting almost 80 years ago.”

Ward said he was honored to be selected to participate in Light Up Navajo. “It was an extremely humbling experience. You would never guess that people still to this day continue to live without what we consider to be basic necessities, such as running water, electricity, etc. To know that I was able to be a part of changing someone’s life by providing power alone is very honoring. The work experience along with meeting the homeowners is amazing. They taught us the Navajo language and they are some of the friendliest people.”

Anaya said “the whole experience made me grateful for the life I live with my family and everything Trico has provided for me. Hopefully I get the opportunity to do it again next year.”

Ann Nadeau thanked Trico for “what you are doing for the Navajo Nation. These residents need to be cool. The crews are heroes.”

Trico was the first cooperative in the state of Arizona to participate in the mutual-aid program last year. According to the American Public Power Association, of the approximately 55,000 homes on the Navajo Nation, nearly 14,000 still do not have electricity. They represent 75% of all U.S. households without power.

Learn more at https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/03/us/navajo-nation-power-grid-connection/index.html. 

Continue reading

Trico Employee Helps Save a Life

Written by mlitwicki on . Posted in Latest News, Livewire.

Trico employee, who is a volunteer Firefighter and EMT, helps save a life

July 1, 2024

Trico Senior Distribution Designer Deidra Tulk is a volunteer Firefighter and EMT with the Benson Fire Department and also works part time for Healthcare Innovations, the ambulance company that serves the Benson area.

On February 2, 2024, Deidra and four other first responders received a call for medical assistance at the local Walmart. As they arrived, the patient went into cardiac arrest, and they immediately began CPR. They continued CPR while the patient was transported to Benson Hospital, where the patient regained a pulse and was stabilized until they could be transported to a Tucson hospital. Within 36 hours the patient was sitting in their room in the ICU talking with their doctors, and then discharged within a few days.

On May 13, 2024, the Benson City Council recognized the five first responders for their efforts and presented them with CPR Life Saver awards.

“It feels a little bit weird to be recognized for doing a job I signed up for, but it’s been humbling how many people show their appreciation, especially as a volunteer,” Deidra said.

Caption: Deidra Tulk and four other first responders were presented with CPR Life Saver awards from the Benson City Council.

Continue reading

Giving back is the cooperative way

Written by mlitwicki on . Posted in Livewire.

Giving back to our community is the cooperative way

December 1, 2023

At Trico, we believe that connection powers our purpose. This connection brings us together as a community – with the understanding that we can do more together than we could do by ourselves.

Trico employees live in the communities we serve and throughout the year we host food drives and other donation events. Employees also donate to United Way of Southern Arizona and volunteer throughout the community, including at the Sahuarita Food Bank & Community Resource Center.

Wes Crane, Land Services and Environmental Supervisor, said volunteering for the food bank was a rewarding experience. “The folks running the food bank are great, and the people getting help really appreciate it,” he said.

During the Trico Golf Tournament, employees raised $850 for the Cooperative Family Fund (CFF). The mission of CFF is to strengthen the bonds of cooperative families by helping cooperative employees and their children deal with grief and the loss of a loved one. To learn more about CFF and donate, visit www.cooperativefamilyfund.com. 

Employees had a chili and salsa cookoff to support the Homicide Survivors Hope for the Holidays. Employees raised $240.

As your electric cooperative, we’re proud to power your life and make a difference in our community. You can help Trico achieve that goal by joining Operation Round Up. Sign up by December 31, 2023 for your chance to win a $100 bill credit. For more information, visit www.trico.coop/operation-round-up.

Caption: Our employees make a difference in the community by volunteering at the Sahuarita Food Bank & Community Resource Center and hosting food drives and other donation events.

Continue reading

Trico Cares About Community

Written by mlitwicki on . Posted in Latest News.

Trico Cares About Our Community

November 1, 2023

Concern for Community is one of the seven cooperative principles that Trico lives by. Trico sponsors many community events and attends events when feasible. We enjoy engaging with our Members and educating them about the benefits of being a Member.

Recently, Trico staff attended community festivals in Arivaca and Three Points. We also shared strategies to improve home energy efficiency at the Citizens for Picture Rocks Monthly Meeting.

Our employees also volunteer at the Sahuarita Food Bank and throughout the community. On September 9, Trico employees and their families participated in the 9/11 National Day of Service in Marana. Our team helped clean up the Heritage River Park.

We look forward to seeing you at a future community event.


Continue reading

Keeping Our Communities Clean

Written by mlitwicki on . Posted in Livewire.

Keeping Our Communities Clean

February 20, 2023

Concern for community is one of the seven cooperative principles. In January, several Trico employees and their families picked up trash along a 44-mile stretch of Arizona Highway 286 from Three Points to Sasabe.

Melissa Owen thanked Trico and the 120+ volunteers who donated a Saturday morning to clear Highway 286 and Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge of 199 bags of trash.

The highway runs through Buenos Aires National Wildlife refuge, so trash along the roadway is not only unsightly but dangerous for raptors, pronghorn, whitetail deer and other wildlife.

Thank you to our volunteers for helping keep our communities clean and safe!

OUR LATEST NEWS

[post-carousel-pro id=”983″]

Continue reading