The College of Southern Maryland is getting a leg up, literally, through the donation of a bucket truck by the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO).

 "We are delighted that SMECO offered to donate the bucket truck to the college.  It will save us thousands of dollars as we won't have to purchase or rent one in the future.  The truck will also have a big impact on our employees and their ability to quickly and efficiently meet our facility needs," said CSM President Dr. Brad Gottfried.

 The 1993 GMC Top Kick bucket truck will enable college facility employees to reach as high as 36 feet through the bucket, easing such work as replacing lights in parking lots at the La Plata, Leonardtown and Prince Frederick campuses.

 "It is always a pleasure to work with President Gottfried and the College of Southern Maryland," said SMECO President and CEO Joe Slater. "We are pleased that our bucket truck will continue to be put to good use."

 SMECO is a customer-owned electric cooperative providing electricity to more than 142,000 services in southern Prince George's County, and in Charles County, St. Mary's County, and all but the northeast portion of Calvert County. Co-ops are different from investor-owned utilities because co-ops are owned by their customers, and these members vote for men and women who sit on the board of directors. As one of more than 600 Touchstone Energy Co-ops, SMECO promotes values that are important to its customer-members: accountability, integrity, innovation and commitment to community.

 In 2008, CSM will celebrate its 50th anniversary. A regionally accredited community college that provides programs and services with a special focus on local workforce development to maintain and grow a healthy economy and community, CSM has been recognized as the 2007 Employer of the Year by the Maryland Department of Aging and is a four-time recipient of the Workplace Excellence Award by the Alliance for Workplace Excellence.