Tennessee Valley Authority
TVA, Gerdau Donate to Kentucky Sheriff's Ranch
July 7, 2011
PADUCAH, Ky. – The Tennessee Valley Authority and Gerdau, a Kentucky metal recycler, are providing funds for repairs at the Kentucky Sheriff's Boys and Girls Ranch in Gilbertsville.
On Wednesday, TVA and Gerdau presented checks to the Kentucky Sheriff's Association, which runs the 50-acre ranch located near Kentucky Dam. The combined $4,000 donation will be used to repair roofing and gutters on several buildings at the ranch. This is the second year TVA and Gerdau have partnered to provide funds for the ranch.
The ranch gives Kentucky children, ages 8-11, from low-income families, a chance to participate in an instructional and organized summer camp for free. Funded by donations, the ranch has a lake, a swimming pool, an archery range and horseback riding stables.
"This facility helps hundreds of children every year from communities served by TVA," said Megan Holman, industrial accounts program manager for TVA. "We support their commitment to providing a safe environment for young people to experience the outdoors."
Gerdau operates a steel mill in Calvert City and is one of Kentucky's largest metal recyclers. They are one of TVA's largest industrial customers in the state. Gerdau employees also volunteer at the ranch each year by teaching and participating in classes, serving meals to campers and sharing personal hobbies with the children.
"Gerdau plays an active role in the community and we see this as a great opportunity to team up with TVA," said Holly Mackey, human resources manager at the Gerdau mill in Calvert City. "The Sheriff's Ranch is one of our biggest community projects. These children are ecstatic when they get to enjoy something as simple as pizza. Knowing you can make a positive impact on a child makes it worth it."
The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for utility and business customers in most of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia – an area of 80,000 square miles with a population of 9 million. TVA operates 29 hydroelectric dams, 11 coal-fired power plants, three nuclear plants and 11 natural gas-fired power facilities that can produce about 34,000 megawatts of electricity, delivered over 16,000 miles of high-voltage power lines. TVA also provides flood control, navigation, land management and recreation for the Tennessee River system and works with local utilities and state and local governments to promote economic development across the region. TVA, which makes no profits and receives no taxpayer money, is funded by sales of electricity to its customers. Electricity prices in TVA's service territory are below the national average.
Gerdau is the leading producer of long steel in the Americas and one of the largest suppliers of special long steel in the world. It has over 45,000 employees and industrial operations in 14 countries including the Americas, Europe and Asia, which together represent an installed capacity of over 25 million metric tons of steel per year. It is the largest recycler in Latin America and around the world it transforms millions of metric tons of scrap into steel every year. Gerdau is listed on the stock exchanges of Sao Paulo, New York, and Madrid and has approximately 140,000 shareholders.
Media Contact:
Scott Brooks, Knoxville, (865) 632-8031
TVA Media Relations, Knoxville, (865) 632-6000