Camp LED lighting project completely donated

     Camp Courageous, a year-round recreational and respite care facility for individuals with disabilities, serving over 7,000 campers a year, was looking to save energy costs by going LED lighting, particularly in their swimming pool area. The Camp Courageous Board of Directors established a Sustainability Committee, headed by Board Member Larry Greco. In their search for making the camp more sustainable for the future, it was suggested they contact Sitler’s LED Supplies in Washington, Iowa, who specialize in LED lighting.

     Contact was made and an appointment was established with Renfred Miller, a master lighting consultant at Sitler, to visit the camp, do a walk through, and get a good feel for the job at hand. Miller asked for a postponement of the meeting, due to the death of one of their owners, Andy Meardon. Meardon died in a car accident on Interstate 80, which was traced back to being exposed to high levels of CO2, prior to the accident. Meardon was known to “never say no to someone in need” and “the biggest thing Andy gave was his time. You could call him day or night and you know he’d make the time and energy just for you,” according to his family and friends.

     Miller shocked the Camp by saying Meardon’s tradition of giving back is going to continue with a very special memorial project at Camp Courageous. Miller has gathered an army of colleagues, suppliers, electricians, family and friends of Andy Meardon to converge on Camp Courageous, Saturday, Feb. 11 beginning at 9 a.m. for one of the biggest volunteer days in the Camp’s history. The plan is, in one day, to completely switch out the camp’s conventional lighting system to all new LED lights…saving the camp over $100,000 in labor and materials in one day…and providing the camp a life time of savings in its electric bill…all in memory of Andy Meardon.

     Board Member Larry Greco said Renfred’s comments almost brought him to tears. “It saddens me greatly about Andy’s passing, but the legacy he is leaving is overwhelming.”

     Renfred Miller, when visiting with suppliers, electricians, family, friends, and colleagues on the project, said the most common comment has been, “What more can we do?”

     Below is a start of a list of companies volunteering:

     • Homewood Electric

     • Black Electric

     • ACT

     • Integrated DNA

     • Trane – Davenport

     • Grout Electric

     • Midland Power Coop

     • Swieter Electric

     • Carson Electric

     • Stutsman’s Hills

     • Watts Up LLC

     • Delaney Electric

     • Moxie Solar

     • HIM Hearth-N-Homes

     • Duke Aerial

     • Giese Manufacturing

     • Once Innovations