It's hard to believe, but the holidays are nearly upon us, and this column is the last chance I will get to reach out to you this year. I hope each and every one of you enjoy this season as much as I do.  The temperature has finally cooled off, the leaves have changed and the mosquitos are (mostly) starting to thin out.

One great thing about this time of year is football. I'm a huge fan! The bowl picture is starting to come into focus around the first of December for college football, and we are starting to get a good idea of which of our NFL teams are going to make the playoffs. I'll be pulling for the Tennessee Volunteers and the New York Giants. How about you?

We certainly cannot forget food this time of year! I hope you all got exactly what you wanted in your jack-o-lanterns and are now ready for those feasts we enjoy around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Don't worry - you can exercise it back off after the first of the year! Enjoy yourself - go ahead and get an extra helping of dressing … I know I will.

I've talked about football and food, but my favorite thing about this time of year is family. My wife, Shannon, and I are very fortunate that a large portion of our family is nearby, and we get to see them on a lot of weekends and most holidays. Of course, Thanksgiving and Christmas is when all of those that you haven't seen all year will come back home to gather for a meal and an opportunity to love one another. I wish you and all of your family safe travels as you gather for the holidays.

Let's not forget about our cooperative family either. We've just completed our cooperative appreciation month, and I must say it was a wonderful success. It was such a pleasure to see all of you who came out to our 5 locations. So many smiling faces - members and employees alike. One of the most positive things about the entire process was the overwhelming number of employees who volunteered to help out.  You see it at our annual meeting, and we saw it again last month - our employees love spending time with our members.

From all of us in the Santee Electric family, we want to wish all of you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! May God bless you all during this wonderful season.

Robert G. Ardis III
President and Chief Executive 0fficer