Month: September 2023

CORRIGAN, Texas, September 1, 2023 /3BL/ – Georgia-Pacific has long supported fire departments and first responders in the communities in which they are located. The company has three major facilities that employ approximately 1,000 people in Polk County, Texas. Recently, Georgia-Pacific donated $100,000 to the volunteer fire department in Corrigan. The Corrigan Volunteer Fire Department, which has close to 25 active volunteers and answered more than 150 emergency calls in 2022, has kicked off a capital campaign to build a new fire station, which will cost $400,000.

The land for the new facility was donated by a local family, and the project will be completed in stages. The first stage involves building the shell of the facility so trucks can operate there immediately. The second stage will build out the living quarters and kitchen, and the third will finalize the parking lot and second story. The Corrigan Volunteer Fire Department also plans to allow local schools and community organizations to have access to the facility for functions and fundraisers.

The Corrigan Volunteer Fire Department is solely staffed by volunteers, which is typical in small and rural areas within the United States. In fact, 65% of firefighters in the U.S. are volunteer, and many fire departments are made up of solely volunteers. Out of 29,452 fire departments in the country, 18,873 of these departments are volunteer. In addition to fire emergencies, these first responders handle many other types of situations, such as emergency medical incidents, vehicle accidents, natural disasters, hazardous materials incidents, water rescue emergencies, and other general public service calls.1 While volunteer fire departments save small local governments money, funding and other challenges, such as recruiting and training volunteers, and securing and maintaining equipment and facilities, are common.

“Fire poses one of the biggest threats in the community and to any wood products business,” said Lester Knight, Georgia-Pacific’s Corrigan plywood plant manager. “It has been dry, and we do face wildfires in this area. When it comes to supporting this community, I cannot think of a better opportunity to give back than to support the Corrigan Volunteer Fire Department. These volunteers leave their families, wake up in the middle of the night, and put their safety at risk to protect us. The new facility will help them in these efforts.”

Georgia-Pacific launched its Bucket Brigade program in 2006 to help support local fire departments, awarding more than $3 million to first responders. Learn more about GP’s work by visiting First Responders | Georgia-Pacific (gp.com).

1 National Fire Volunteer Council: https://www.nvfc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NVFC-Volunteer-Fire-Service-Fact-Sheet.pdf

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., September 1, 2023 /3BL/ – More than 1,400 income-eligible customers in Volusia County’s DeBary neighborhood will receive a complimentary energy makeover this month for their house, mobile home or apartment as part of Duke Energy’s money-saving Neighborhood Energy Saver program.

Beginning August 15, Duke Energy Florida will assess the homes of income-eligible customers to determine if they qualify for free attic insulation, duct sealing and AC maintenance. Eligible customers may also qualify to receive up to 17 energy-saving improvements at no cost, including:

Digital room thermometerEnergy-saving showerhead or shower wandOne-year supply of AC filtersSupply of AC/furnace filtersWater-saving kitchen and bathroom faucet aeratorsEnergy-efficient lightbulbsWater heater wraps/pipe wrapCovers for window AC unitsCaulking, weatherstripping and door sweepsInsulation upgradeBasic AC maintenanceAC duct leakage sealing

The Neighborhood Energy Saver program also teaches customers how their daily activities, habits and other factors can contribute to higher electric use and energy bills.

“A smarter energy future is about making smarter, more strategic choices in the way we use energy,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “The Neighborhood Energy Saver program is just one of many we have available to help customers use energy more efficiently and save on their bills.”

Eligible customers received an invitation to the Neighborhood Energy Saver launch event scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Gateway Center for the Arts, 880 N. Highway 17-92 in DeBary. Customers should contact our Neighborhood Energy Saver Customer Care Center at 855.227.2918 to reserve their spots, or to get more information if they cannot attend the launch event.

A map showing eligible neighborhoods is available upon request.

“I would like to thank Duke Energy for working with residents who struggle with energy costs to enroll in their Neighborhood Energy Saver Program,” said Mayor Karen Chasez, City of DeBary. “With Duke Energy’s assistance, our residents will have the necessary resources to make their homes more energy efficient while learning how to reduce energy use in their daily activities.”

“Being more energy-efficient is a critical component of environmental conservation and sustainability,” said Chasez. “By embracing energy efficiency, we can contribute to a healthier and more resilient city for future generations.

Since 2006, the Neighborhood Energy Saver program has helped customers in more than 65 communities across Florida, installing more than 700,000 energy efficiency improvements in more than 47,000 income-eligible customers’ homes.

The program is available to residential customers (both homeowners and renters) living in communities identified by Duke Energy. Federal and state guidelines and census data are used to objectively select communities where the program would be most beneficial to income-eligible customers.

Since 1981, Duke Energy has helped its Florida customers save nearly $1.25 billion through its energy efficiency programs, including the Neighborhood Energy Saver program. For more information on energy efficiency tips that benefit all homeowners, visit duke-energy.com/home/savings.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2023 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media contact: Audrey Stasko 
Media line: 800.559.3853 
Twitter: @DE_AudreyS

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There was a time when Will Matthews didn’t want to talk about football.

This was long after he first fell in love with the game—its physicality, the way it gave him an outlet for his emotions. It was after his years playing for the University of Texas Longhorns and helping them win the 2005 Rose Bowl. After three seasons in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.

One day he left practice and returned to an empty locker. The Lions had let him go.

“I really had to scramble, to be OK with not being a football player,” he says. “I had to do some deep soul-searching. I didn’t want anybody to know I played football, so that I wouldn’t have to talk about it. I wouldn’t watch the game.”

For Matthews, the game was over. And he wasn’t sure what came next.

He threw himself into work for a nonprofit helping people in impoverished communities around the world. He launched a career in commercial real estate finance and marketing. He traveled, meeting his wife in California. He wrote and performed music. He started a family, and, as a community leader back at home in Austin, Texas, guided philanthropic efforts and led important conversations on social issues.

Along the way, he found out just why he gets up in the morning: to live at what he calls the “cross-section of profit and purpose.” This means pursuing a career that supports his passion for community service—profit fuels purpose, he says. “Does my day job allow me to stoke the fires of passion and do the things that I know my community needs?” he asks himself.

In 2021, that passion led him back to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, this time as a sideline reporter for the Longhorns. You’ll hear him reporting live from games on Saturdays and serving up analysis on the Longhorns’ networks throughout the week.

When he joined Truist as a vice president of commercial banking early in 2022, the Official Bank Sponsor of Texas Athletics was happy to let him keep his sideline gig. Matthews appreciated that. More importantly, he saw that Truist’s purpose of inspiring and building better lives and communities aligned with the purpose he found after his football career.

“I love Truist’s connection to the community,” he says. “That’s what made me say yes. We start by giving.”

A team player from the start

Matthews was one of the most unselfish players on the field. He played fullback, a position that has “selflessness” in the job description, right between “physical toughness” and “willingness to run through a wall.”

He thrived at Texas, throwing blocks for Longhorns legends like Cedric Benson and Vince Young. Other guys got more personal glory. The wins (the teams he played on enjoyed a lot of wins) belonged to everyone.

“He’s taken the work ethic, the integrity, and his selfless attitude—never giving up and never quitting—and turned it into a great business career,” former Texas head football coach Mack Brown says of Matthews.

That selflessness dates to Matthews’ childhood growing up in the Austin area. His parents were pastors. They raised dozens of foster kids who remain a part of his family to this day. Often, Matthews and his family would help people in underprivileged neighborhoods.

“You just fill a need, really,” he says. “If the community doesn’t have a playground, you get people together and have fun and create something. If people aren’t eating the right food, or they don’t have clothes, you bring that in. If people don’t have education or need help finding jobs, we would provide that stuff.”

After his football career ended, Matthews remembered the joy he’d experienced doing community outreach. He joined a nonprofit and traveled internationally to raise money for widows and orphans. Sometimes, the group bought livestock for residents of isolated rural areas.

Once, Matthews and some of the nonprofit’s supporters went to eastern Europe to donate clothing and other goods. There they shared a meal with people living in extreme poverty. The volunteers and donors were as deeply affected by the experience as the people they were supporting.

“Money helps, but what really can change people is human connection,” Matthews says. “When you see somebody with a smile on their face, you find that totally changes you.”

Knowing the fabric of a community

Matthews brought his passion for service to his career in marketing and commercial real estate finance, where he advocated for projects that would build up communities. As a guitarist and singer-songwriter, he takes the same approach to music.

His wife, Rebecca, recalls how early in their relationship they visited Costa Rica to support children in need.

“Will took his guitar and just played music and sang for people,” Rebecca says. “He just exudes so much joy in environments where he’s getting to use his gifts to celebrate others.”

At Truist, Matthews puts all his talents and experience to work, both as a commercial banker and through community outreach efforts.

Truist’s partnership with Texas Athletics is in many ways a game changer, according to Austin Market President Steve Smith. It’s an iconic brand with national recognition, but it’s also an institution that is integral to life in Austin. Matthews is uniquely positioned to help strengthen the relationship between Truist and Texas—and between Truist and the Austin community.

“Will has connectivity to many aspects of the Austin community: nonprofit, real estate, traditional commercial industrial clients, tech companies,” Smith says. “Will knows the fabric of Austin.”

Using his voice

Along with his day jobs and his philanthropic work—he’s a trustee for the Ascension Seton Foundation, a nonprofit that fundraises for an Austin-area hospital network—Matthews is also a powerful voice in support of mental health and racial equity.

He has partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness to bring conversations about mental health issues into the open and to reduce the stigma that may prevent some people—especially young athletes—from seeking help. In 2020, he organized events aimed at discussing racial equity in the workplace. When businesses lack diversity, “we all miss out,” Matthews says.

Today, he is more than happy to talk about football. His two sons play. He loves the game, and it will always be a part of his life. But he also knows his purpose off the field.

Maybe he knew it all along.

“I’ve always had an innate sense that my life was supposed to help other people,” he says. “Whether that’s on the big stage in the NFL or through helping the individual next to me.”