Press Releases

Joseph D. Tedesco Named New HILCO Director (posted 5/7/08)

HILCO Electric Cooperative, Inc. President Bill Allen announced the appointment of Joseph D. (Joe) Tedesco to the HILCO Board of Directors. He will fill the District 4 seat left vacant when former Director Steve Sawyer retired earlier this year.

Joe Tedesco is enthusiastic about his new position and is looking forward to working with the other board directors for HILCO members.

Tedesco, who has been a member of the cooperative since 2002, lives in Waxahachie with his wife of 27 years, Melinda, and two children, Daniel and Jenna. Another daughter, Carissa, and her husband, Jesse Birdsall of Lewisville , TX , have one daughter, Ashton Ray. The family is looking forward to the addition of a brother for Ashton in a few months.

Tedesco earned a B.S. Degree in Psychology from Cedar Crest College , with minors in Special Education and Computer Science. He is retired from Air Products and Chemicals in Dallas , and is currently teaching algebra courses in the Palmer Independent School District .

An avid sports fan, Tedesco enjoys golf and motorcycling. He is a former football, basketball and track coach, and was a basketball official at local and state events.  

Joe Tedesco, new HILCO Director, District 4

Local Students Bound for Washington, D.C. (posted 4/22/08)

Zac Johnson of Itasca and Andrew Kurta of Whitney were the lucky winners of an expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. in June, sponsored by HILCO Electric Cooperative in Itasca. The winners of the competition were selected based on personal interviews and essays entitled, “What it Means to Be an American,” judged by independent judges from other electric co-ops.

The objective of the annual Youth Tour is to educate our youth on all aspects of cooperative electrification for a better understanding of the history and value of electric cooperatives. The Tour provides an opportunity for students to meet with U. S. Representatives from their own districts, followed by a tour of the House and Senate chambers, visits to monuments, government buildings and cooperative-related organizations in order to become familiar with the historical and political environment of our nation’s capital. Meeting elected officials provides an opportunity for the students to have a first hand look at the workings of our federal government. 

Electric cooperatives take pride in sponsoring these programs to educate future co-op member-consumers and community leaders about the importance of their participation in democracy, on both the co-op level and in their own communities. The students will also visit the White House, go on several sight-seeing tours, and attend many other fun activities and educational events.

All cooperative businesses adhere to seven guiding principles. The Youth Tour incorporates three of those principles, including (2) Democratic Membership Control; (5) Education, Training and Information; and (7) Concern for Community.

Zac Johnson and Andrew Kurta won the HILCO Electric Cooperative Government-in-Action Youth Tour contest. They will join over 100 Texas high school students and more than 1,000 from across the nation to tour the nation’s capital.

Back to top

HILCO ’s Operation Round Up^® Grants Funding to Local Organizations (posted 2/22/08)

Operation Round Up^® is a program in which residential members of HILCO Electric Cooperative, Inc. sign up to voluntarily have their electric bills rounded upward to the next dollar. Every month, the additional pennies, nickels and dimes are added to a special fund. The Operation Round Up^® Trust Board, comprised of representatives of the HILCO districts, meets once a quarter to review applications and to decide how the funds are to be allocated.  

At their January meeting, HILCO Electric’s Trust Board voted to disburse $10,171.00 to ten organizations in the HILCO service area. These funds were donated during the fourth quarter of 2007.  

Grant checks were presented on February 6, 2008 at HILCO ’s Midlothian office by Board Directors, Margaret Hill and James Perkins and Trust Board Member, Debbie Brooks.  A second presentation was held at the Itasca HILCO office on February 7, 2008 .  On hand to present the award checks were Board Directors, Steve Sawyer and Dave Smith.  

The following organizations were recipients of the fourth quarter funds disbursements:  

§         Brookhaven Youth Ranch (West, TX) - $876 - Power Point Projector

§         Bynum ISD Student Council ( Bynum , TX ) - $1,000 - Student Council Trip to Washington , D.C.

§         Covington Volunteer Fire Department ( Covington , TX ) - $1,650 - Fire department equipment

§         First Christian Day School ( Waxahachie , TX ) - $650  - Color laser printer

§         Grandview Zebra Strings ( Grandview , TX ) - $1,000 - Student trip to perform in Branson , MO

§         Heart of Texas Therapeutic Riding Center, Inc. (West, TX) - $1,650 - Patient lift

§         Hospice of the Heart ( Whitney , TX ) - $610 - Equipment

§         Isaiah's Place, Inc. ( Whitney , TX ) - $645 - Equestrian program items for deaf children

§         Midlothian Senior Citizens Center ( Midlothian , TX ) - $1,000 - Funding towards a passenger van

§         Waxahachie Preparatory Academy ( Waxahachie , TX ) - $1,090 - Character First! Program  

Since the Operation Round Up^® program began in 2001, over $339,379 has been returned to communities within the HILCO service area. This has been made possible from the generosity of residential members who have opted to participate monthly in the program. Members may have their names added to or removed from the program by calling HILCO at 254-687-2331 or 800-338-6425.  

The next deadline for Operation Round Up^® is March 31, 2008 . Applications are available online at www.hilco.coop, or can be picked up at one of the three HILCO offices located at 115 E. Main in Itasca , at 4581 FM 933 in Whitney or 300A Silken Crossing in Midlothian . Organizations can contact Jill Huggins , HILCO Executive Assistant, for more information at 254-687-2331 or 800-338-6425, extension 1142.

Brookhaven Youth Ranch HILCO Board Director Dave Smith and Cindy Graham	Bynum ISD Student Council HILCO Board Director Steve Sawyer, Ashley Murray and Ariel Upchurch
Covington Volunteer Fire Department Dave Smith and John Burnett	First Christian Day School Sherry Milliken, Colton Robertson, Kenzie Burgerson, Debbie Brooks, Sonya Ward, Clint Young,Brandt Burleson, Heather Schrome, Destiny Morris, Jonathon Stansell, Margaret Hill, Conner Loveless, James Perkins
Grandview Zebra Strings Performance Group Steve Sawyer, Sam Black, Cassie Raley, Carly Harris and Maddie Hayes	Heart of Texas Therapeutic Riding Center, Inc. Dave Smith and Curtis Wills
Hospice of the Heart, Inc. Steve Sawyer and Glenn Gray	Isaiah’s Place, Inc.  Jim Perkins, Diane Frederickson and Debbie Brooks
Midlothian Senior Citizens Center  Jim Perkins, Karen Cox and Margaret Hill	Waxahachie Preparatory Academy Dave Smith and Elizabeth Thomas

Back to top