July 2021
A co-op member’s donation spreads into something special
SHELBY “MIMI” BEALE DIDN’T SET OUT TO BE AN INSPIRATION. IT JUST WORKED OUT THAT WAY.
Earlier this year, Beale, a Community Electric Cooperative member, contributed to a medical expense fund for Jesse Flack, a Danville Utilities lineworker who sustained life-changing injuries when he came in contact with a 7,200-volt line following an ice storm. Flack is in rehabilitation after a long hospital stay, but suffered physical trauma that will remain with him.
Beale’s reason for giving was simple. “It could’ve been my son,” she says, referring to Danny Beale, a line crew leader with CEC.
Her contribution moved Jonathan Powell, a member of her son’s crew at CEC, and W.H. Holland, a serviceman at CEC. Another crew member, Ryan Hewitt, attended a lineworker training program with Flack at Southside Virginia Community College. With the backing of CEC leadership, they put together a team that grilled and sold 805 pounds of locally made sausage to raise money for Flack’s expenses.
A donated sawblade and custom knife were added, and the co-op board matched the fundraising. In all, $13,000 went to Flack’s family via the Fallen Linemen Foundation.
Mimi Beale refuses to accept praise for her selfless act of kindness, but Powell, Holland and the rest of the team praise her for raising the bar on a worthy cause. For the co-op family knows no bounds when it comes to our communities.
Visit gofundme.com/f/jesse-flack-and-family-fund for more information.