Early Summer Flowers, Vacations and Graduations

June 2023

By Brian S. Mosier, President & CEO, Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives

For me, June is about school graduations, the start of summer vacation and flowers bursting into full bloom. The temperatures start getting warmer and the beaches start getting busier.

Once again this year we were proud to help our members provide scholarships to high school graduates who are looking toward furthering their education, or possibly enrolling in the Power Line Worker Training School at Southside Virginia Community College. Since 2001, the VMDAEC Education Scholarship Foundation has given out over $900,000 in scholarships to cooperative members in our three-state area.

Along with June kicking off summer vacations, it is also time for fairs and festivals. Be sure to check out our Fairs & Festivals Guide on pages 11 through 13 of this issue to discover some new places to visit during your family’s summer travels.

Early summer is also a wonderful time to enjoy all the blooms at the many gardens, arboretums and parks that are scattered throughout the mid-Atlantic. We are blessed to be within driving distance of such natural beauty, and so we wanted to feature one of those locations in this month’s issue.

Our cover story is about a new botanical garden in NOVEC’s service territory. It gives fascinating insight to all the different plant species and tropical varieties that you wouldn’t necessarily associate with this area. It features the largest xeric garden east of the Mississippi River, so you’ll have to read the story to fully appreciate what that means.

I hope you enjoy our June issue and congratulations to the class of 2023!