The Florida Municipal Electric Association on July 24 announced the winners of the Member of the Year and Associate Member of the Year awards during its annual conference banquet in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
The awards recognize association members for their outstanding contributions to FMEA and Florida’s public power industry.
“This year’s recipients of the FMEA Member of the Year and Associate Member of the Year awards embody the spirit of public power – to be supportive of their peers, community focused, and service oriented. They have routinely gone above and beyond on behalf of Florida public power,” said Amy Zubaly, FMEA Executive Director. “Congratulations to both award winners. You have our highest regard and sincere appreciation.”
The Member of the Year award is given to an individual or group within an FMEA member utility who exemplifies extraordinary service and dedication to FMEA and Florida public power.
The 2025 FMEA Member of the Year award was presented to Olivia Minshew, city manager of the City of Wauchula. Minshew has served the City of Wauchula for more than 20 years, including the last two years as its city manager.
Minshew has been actively involved with FMEA for more than seven years, taking part in the association’s communicators and utility operations roundtables, virtual training events, and the FMEA Energy Connections and Annual Conferences.
She is a regular attendee of FMEA’s Legislative Rally in Tallahassee and the American Public Power Association’s Legislative Rally in Washington, D.C., where she advocates on behalf of public power. Additionally, she has served as an FMEA board alternate.
The FMEA Associate Member of the Year award recognizes an associate member or associate member company who exemplifies extraordinary service and dedication to FMEA and Florida’s public power community.
The 2025 Associate Member of the Year was awarded to Jason Langella, chief marketing officer of Permacast Walls, a manufacturer that supplies electric utilities with precast concrete walls and custom fence panel systems used in energy substations.
Langella joined FMEA as an associate member in 2023 and quickly became a part of nearly every FMEA signature event since then by exhibiting, sponsoring, and sharing his expertise at conferences.
He promotes FMEA and its members across many other nationwide industry events and consistently shares the association’s online content across his robust professional networks, touting not only the specific work he is doing in partnership with FMEA, but also serving as a champion of the personnel and other benefits and work of our trade association.
