From left: Miami-Cass REMC linemen Greg Million, Zach Haner and TJ Maroney were among the group of Indiana electric cooperative linemen who helped with restoration efforts following Hurricane Irma.

Miami-Cass REMC was among 25 Indiana electric cooperatives that helped with power restoration efforts in Georgia and Florida following Hurricane Irma. Linemen Greg Million, TJ Maroney and Zach Haner joined 63 other lineman who left Sept. 12 to assist electric cooperatives in those states.

Million, Maroney and Haner heard about the opportunity to provide assistance on Sept. 8 and were told to prepare for the possibility of being gone for two weeks. On Sept. 11, they found out they would be leaving for Georgia the next day. The entire Indiana group arrived in Barnsville, Georgia, around noon on Wednesday, Sept. 13, and almost immediately began work helping the crew of Southern Rivers Energy. The crews worked until after midnight and started again at 6 a.m. the next morning working late into the evening the next day.

When they arrived in Barnsville, 7,800 members of the cooperative were without power from the storm. Million recalled trees and wires were down everywhere. When they left Georgia, the number of members without power at the c00perative was down to just 60.

When asked why they would choose to go, the men said that they had a desire to help others and to gain experience.

“As a co-op, we like to lend a helping hand whenever we can, because you never know when you might need it,” said Million.

This is just one example of how Miami-Cass REMC embodies one of our cooperative principles — cooperation among cooperatives.