Wednesday, January 12, 2011 11:15 am

From left, Cannon County Rescue Squad Junior member Dylan Bogle, Chief Operating Officer Tim Bell, Chief Financial Officer Chris Brushaber and 2nd Lieutenant Chuck Holt display a replica check for $7,500 from MTE Customers Care.

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation’s Customers Care has donated $7,500 of its Operation Round Up funds to the Cannon County Rescue Squad.

“I want to express my appreciation to the members for this donation,” Cannon County Rescue Squad Chief Operating Officer Tim Bell said. “This donation will help with the purchase of equipment needed to respond to search and rescue missions.”

The Cannon County Rescue Squad, Inc., is a nonprofit organization which provides primary rescue services to the citizens of Cannon County.  

Operation Round Up began in 2003 and has distributed more than $4 million into MTEMC’s communities.

The initiative “rounds up” members’ bills to the next highest dollar, with that extra change set aside for worthy causes. It is the responsibility of the Customers Care Board, which is composed of seven MTEMC members, to evaluate grant requests and send the money back to qualifying organizations.

Incoming contributions are tracked by county so that the Customers Care Board can do its best to ensure money contributed by members in a certain county goes to that county. Any balances will be carried over each month.

MTE Customers Care funds may not be used for political or expressly religious purposes, schools or school-related organizations.