Grandpa pays $7,615 in utility bills for 114 struggling families

·3 min read
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Florida business owner Michael Esmond paid more than $7,600 for 114 struggling families before their services were terminated. (Photo: Courtesy of CNN)
Florida business owner Michael Esmond paid more than $7,600 for 114 struggling families before their services were terminated. (Photo: Courtesy of CNN)

A Florida grandfather paid his neighbors’s overdue utility bills so they wouldn’t cut off before Christmas.

Michael Esmond, 74, knows what it’s like to struggle — in the early 1980s he couldn’t afford his own gas bill while working for a swimming pool company and his services were disconnected. “It was shut off for the whole winter,” Esmond, the owner of Gulf Breeze Pools and Spas and a U.S. Army veteran, tells Yahoo Life. “I have been in the hole but now my business is prospering so I would like to give back to my community.”

Between the coronavirus pandemic and Hurricane Sally (a category 2 storm in September that devastated some coastal areas), it’s been a difficult year for the residents of Gulf Breeze, some of whom had their homes destroyed in the storm. So he decided to decided to pay off their bills, before services were interrupted on Dec. 16.

Esmond shared his plan with Gulf Breeze utility billing supervisor Joanne Oliver, who said that 114 households were sixty days behind in payments. Esmond immediately wrote out a check for $7,615.40.

Oliver knew Esmond from last December, when he came to her office and offered to pay $4,600 for 36 families facing disconnection. “She started crying,” he recalls. That year, recipients were mailed notices that read, "It is our honor and privilege to inform you that your past due utility bill has been paid by Gulf Breeze Pools & Spas. You can rest easier this holiday season knowing you have one less bill to pay. On behalf of Gulf Breeze Pools & Spas we here at the City of Gulf Breeze would like to wish you and your family a happy holiday season."

The city of Gulf Breeze, Fla., mailed notices to families whose utility bills have been paid for by generous donors. (Photo: Courtesy of CNN)
The city of Gulf Breeze, Fla., mailed notices to families whose utility bills have been paid for by generous donors. (Photo: Courtesy of CNN)

This year, the utility company printed the same cards to be issued this week. Oliver tells Yahoo Life that Esmond is not the only generous donor this year. “In September, Bigham Cable Construction Company donated $42,000 to help out 252 households and today, three donors, including two anonymous parties, contributed $1,750,” she says.

Esmond has received thank you letters and cards, along with a phone call from a humbled airline pilot who re-paid the city and requested that Edmond’s donation cover another household. “His wife was mad at him because he forgot to pay the bill,” says Esmond.

The father of three, who is expecting twin great-grandchildren in January, feels fortunate for business he earned while the pandemic kept people home. “A lot of people decided to install swimming pools.”

“This is something I wanted to do,” adds Esmond. “A lot of people lost their jobs...I hope the people who can afford it will make Christmas special [for others].”

For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC’s and WHO’s resource guides.

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