Founded in 1937, Baldwin EMC is a member-owned electric cooperative serving more than 90,000 accounts in southwest Alabama. It is the largest and fastest-growing electric cooperative in the state and has been a CoBank customer since 1982. Deeply involved in community and charitable activities, Baldwin EMC is a member of local chambers of commerce and other business associations, and it regularly donates to local charities and sponsors community events.
Mark Ingram has been the vice president of corporate services and public relations at Baldwin EMC for the past 10 years and is proud of the cooperative’s commitment to community. “Baldwin EMC’s giving focuses primarily on safety and general education, the arts and economic development,” said Ingram. “We work hand in hand with our chambers of commerce to increase investment in our local downtown districts, to expand existing businesses and to attract new industries to our county.
We also invest in local charities that have good reach within the community and support the public good. We’ve participated in CoBank’s Sharing Success program since it began in 2012. That’s helped us double our contributions to organizations like the Alabama Free Clinic, North Baldwin Infirmary Foundation, South Baldwin Literacy Council, the Rileigh and Raylee Angel Ride, The Exceptional Foundation and the Thomas Hospital Foundation.”
In 2024, Baldwin EMC used some of its Sharing Success dollars to support Southern Star Search and Rescue, a group of specially trained volunteers who coordinate, manage and participate in searches for missing persons, primarily along the Gulf Coast in the southern states. Southern Star SAR is also a member of the Alabama Association of Rescue Squads that serves all of the counties of Alabama. The organization assists local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and families of the missing.
Laurie Strite has been a member of search and rescue teams for nearly 20 years. With her K9 partners K9 Angel, K9 Thora and K9 Nitro, she works in both human remains detection and trailing. Strite spent most of her career in computer networking before retiring, but it is her work with search and rescue that she finds most fulfilling.
“This is down and dirty work trekking through woods, swamps and a lot of places that most people aren’t used to,” said Strite. “If you want to be involved in search and rescue, you have to be prepared for snakes and alligators and spiders. There are hardships that sometimes take you away from family, but our volunteers are a deeply committed team. We all come from different backgrounds and careers, but I think we all agree that the first time you are on a team that saves someone’s life, it changes you deeply and profoundly. You just want to keep giving back, even when it is challenging.”
The team at Southern Star has 11 nationally certified K9s and more than 60 years of combined experience in search and rescue. In addition, team members have collaborative computing qualifications that allow them to provide search planning assistance to law enforcement and to run incident command for large, community-wide searches.
“We run education programs for first responders, other rescue teams and the community at large,” said Strite. “One of the most rewarding things we did as a group was to design a program for our local Boy Scouts group that allowed the scouts to earn their search and rescue merit badges. It was great to see the kids get so excited about the program and earn their badges. Hopefully, we’re helping to build the next generation of Southern Star volunteers.”
Southern Star Search and Rescue is an all-volunteer organization and does not charge for its services. Donations, like those from Baldwin EMC and CoBank, are critical and enable the organization to continue its vital work to support law enforcement and families in need.