Michael Edmonds just put a positive spin on the “Florida man” moniker by paying the past-due utility bills for 114 families in the Gulf Breeze community.
Michael Edmonds, 74, is the owner of Gulf Breeze Pools and Spas, and he’s “almost ashamed” to admit that his business did well this year because he knows how bad people in the area are suffering from the pandemic and the recent effects of Hurricane Sally.
We’ve had a good year, and that’s why I want to share what I have with the people who need it.
I have been down on my luck like people are today, where I had trouble paying bills and raising three daughters. The gas company shut the gas off and we didn’t have any heat.
I can relate to people suffering and not being able to pay bills. That’s probably one of the biggest motivators for me, because I’ve been there.
People can’t afford to pay their bills and put food on the table, so I hope doing my part and paying some bills for these folks takes a little bit of stress off of them around Christmas time.
Last year Edmonds paid the utility bills of 36 households ($4,600) in the Gulf Breeze community, and this year with the threat of the pandemic and Hurricane Sally he decided to donate $7,615.40 to pay for the past-due pills of 114 households.
Joanne Oliver, the city’s utility billing supervisor, said holiday cards will be mailed to the residents this week notifying them that their past-due bills have been paid in full.
Oliver praised the generosity of Michael Edmonds.
Even though our country and our city is currently going through probably the most difficult years of some of our lifetimes, there are still people out there who are generous and kind and really do want to help others.
To have others within the community wanting to reach out and help their neighbors, now is more important than ever.
Shout out to Michael Edmonds for putting a positive spin on “Florida man”, and I’m sure he will be blessed tenfold for the way he’s being a blessing to others.
Source: CNN
