January 2008

contributed photo

The Wojtaszek family was captured in this photo during a recent vacation to Disney World. Clockwise from left: Dave Wojtaszek's son Joe, Joe's girlfriend Jess, son Josh, Dave and his wife Kelly.

Meet Dave Wojtaszek...

Dave Wojtaszek is the proud father of two boys and husband to wife Kelly. He is originally from Pittsburgh, and when asked what it was like there he said, "Lots of Iron City Beer and Steelers parties." Dave now enjoys the clean air, water and tropical climate here in the Keys.

Dave's eldest son, 23-year old Joe, works in construction installing boat lifts and davits. He recently relocated to Fort Meyers to be closer to his girlfriend who is attending Gulf Coast University. His other son, 21-year old Josh, has relocated to Madison, Indiana, where he is working in the new Honda Plant and rents a farmhouse with friends. Both are enjoying making it on their own.

"Kelly and I are proud of our sons," Dave said. "But with them recently out of the house, we've been enjoying the peace and quiet!" Kelly is a supervisor at Bealls Outlet in Key Largo and the couple recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.

Wojtaszek joined FKEC in 1997 as a Protection and Control Technician and later earned a promotion to his current position as a Substation Engineer. He has a Bachelor's of Science degree from Point Park University, an Associate's degree in Electronics and Computer Technology, and an MBA Certificate from Tulane. He now plans to work toward a Master's of Science degree from University of Florida online.

Dave said that in comparison to the 17 years he worked at a large investor-owned utility, he likes the more personal environment of working with a smaller group of Co-op employees. He also prefers the idea of providing service for members instead of working towards the expected "Dividend Yield" of shareholders.

"I feel fortunate to work with professionals," says Wojtaszek. "It's rewarding to see ideas manifest through the engineering and construction process at our substations and generation facility. As we improve our infrastructure, we elevate our members' standard of living within environmental constraints and add to the comforts of life through improved power quality."

When he isn't working or with his family, Wojtaszek enjoys landscaping and restoring classic cars and boats.