While countless public events have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 health emergency, the Celebration of Lights at Morris Park still took place, with the continued help of Mon Power volunteers. Rain or shine, company volunteers have been donating their time to the Celebration of Lights – organized by the South Fairmont Rotary Club and benefiting the United Way of Marion & Taylor counties – since 2015. For 2020, 30 employees assembled approximately 500 lighted holiday displays along a 1.3-mile loop around the park. Wearing safety gear – including glasses, work gloves, flagging vests and face masks – the group moved the lighted displays out of storage and assembled them, setting metal rods in the ground and attaching the displays with zip ties. Mon Power line workers from the nearby White Hall Service Center also brought a bucket truck to the site to hang a handful of elevated displays.

Members of our Mon Power Chapter of Women in Leadership played a big role in making sure local families in need had a nice Thanksgiving. The group packed 1,000 Thanksgiving food boxes for Pantry Plus in Morgantown.

Chuck Lenhart, Communications Field Support technician III, and his family created a synchronized holiday light show benefiting the West Virginia Association of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) in Marion County. The 5,600 lights were individually controlled and blinked to music provided by a local radio station. The display also included three animated snowmen that sang along with the music. Chuck and his family provided a donation box, so viewers could make contributions to CASA. The light show raised nearly $2,800 for the organization. CASA engages and empowers volunteers to give a voice to abused and neglected children in the West Virginia court system.