The holidays are a good time to say “thank you” to all of the people who make our lives better.
Videos by InspireMore
Carlos Moreira of Sarasota, Florida, is one of those people. After spending over 15 years serving in the United States Marine Corps, Carlos entered the reserves for three years before going to college. Now, the dedicated husband and father continues to give back to his community in various ways to this day.
For the past 15 years, Florida Power & Light Company has also tried to give back to their community by selecting a worthy candidate for their Hero Holiday Lighting program. Every year, FPL “elves” work for hours to completely deck out the exterior of a local hero’s home. This year, they worked behind-the-scenes with Carlos’s wife, Rayne, to give him a big surprise!
While Carlos was out, the elves descended on his home and covered it in thousands of LED lights. They also added lots of solar-powered and energy-efficient decorations.
FPL employee Devaney Iglesias was there on the big day, reiterating why Carlos is a perfect candidate for the Hero Holiday Lighting program. She also shared just how excited she was to see how he’d react to their festive surprise!
“Aside from doing things and giving back to our country, he’s still giving back to our community, which is amazing,” Devaney said.
Carlos was indeed shocked when he arrived to find that his house was completely decked out for the holidays! Plus, a huge crowd of FPL elves were there to greet him and thank him for his service. He said it was a nice surprise to be on the receiving end of something like this; he’s usually on the other side!
“At the end of the day, you know, it’s about helping people,” said Carlos, “And you know, the more you help people, the more you help your community without thinking about it.”
This is such a fun way to recognize a hero in the community! We’d love to see more programs like this one nationwide.
Share this story to thank Carlos for his years of selfless service to others.
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