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Foundation for Appalachian Ohio

Cara Dingus Brook's passion for education is building a strong foundation for success. In Ohio.

For Cara Dingus Brook, achieving the State of Perfect Balance is a fulltime pursuit. Just ask her about the desk next to her treadmill.

“I have one for my laptop, so I can email and jot down ideas while I exercise,” she says with a laugh.

Balance for Cara may sound more like work, but when she describes her mission to improve education in Appalachian Ohio, there’s a passionate sparkle in her eye. Her work is clearly a labor of love. In her role as the president and CEO of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, she devotes much of her time to initiatives like the ICAN! campaign, which promotes education through community investment.

Companies like AEP Ohio are helping Cara’s foundation achieve its mission. The preferred energy partner for thousands of Ohio businesses not only shares a stake in the vitality of the state’s economy by providing affordable and reliable electricity, it also shares a stake in the vitality of Ohio’s education system through support of causes like the 2009 ICAN! Child of Appalachia writing contest.

“Ohio is one of the nation’s strongest philanthropic states,” Cara says. “I see it at every level, from government leaders to community members. We really are a place where people come together to create a better life.”

For Cara, achieving balance means bringing people, passion and purpose together. “Family, creative outlets, personal spiritual beliefs and work all come together in ways that enhance each other and strengthen the whole experience of life in Ohio.”

About the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio

The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO) was created in 1998 as a regional community foundation serving the 32 counties of Appalachian Ohio. As a 501(c)(3) public charity, the Foundation works with donors and those who care deeply about the region to support regional improvement through the power of charitable giving.

FAO serves 32 counties throughout the region: Adams, Ashtabula, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Carroll, Clermont, Columbiana, Coshocton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mahoning, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Vinton and Washington. The Foundation is headquartered in Nelsonville, Ohio.

About AEP Ohio

AEP Ohio serves nearly 1.5 million customers in Ohio and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. In Ohio, we provide power to more than 920 communities located in 61 of the state's 88 counties. In West Virginia, we serve Ohio and Marshall counties, providing service to approximately 41,000 customers. Our headquarters is in Gahanna, with regulatory and external affairs offices in downtown Columbus. A subsidiary of American Electric Power and the largest of its regional utility divisions, AEP Ohio is comprised of Columbus Southern Power Company and Ohio Power Company and Wheeling Power.

AEP Ohio is focused on providing reliable affordable energy to our customers in a safe, effective manner. We also are committed to environmental protection and improvement consistent with providing electricity at a competitive price.

We at AEP Ohio believe strongly in the merits of fuel diversity in generating electricity, and our generating fleet reflects that belief. Today, coal-fired plants account for 74 percent of AEP's generating capacity, while natural gas represents 15 percent and nuclear 8 percent. The remaining 3 percent comes from wind, hydro, pumped storage and other sources.

AEP Ohio is part of the American Electric Power system, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP's transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP's utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, see our corporate web site, www.aep.com.