It takes a great number of connections to keep a power grid up, and not just ones that carry electricity. Rae Dowling, area manager for Florida Power and Light in Southwest Florida, works hard with area chambers and nonprofits to keep the community connected to the community. We spoke to Dowling about the brightest lights in her life.

PHOTO BY EVAN SIGMUND.

Raising Children. My kids are grown and provided a ton of fun times. I have three kids: Benjamin, 30; Melissa, 27; Joseph, 24. My two youngest played softball and baseball, spent a lot of time traveling and enjoying sports activities. Joseph is forever holding a fishing pole and sending me pictures from fishing expeditions. Melissa played softball in college, and after that played a season in Italy and the Netherlands.

Bob Bartz, Manatee Chamber of Commerce president. I admire people who are courageous, take stands and work for our communities. Bob Bartz is one of those people. I've been involved with the Manatee Chamber for seven years and watched his leadership style of understanding the people. I'm chairman of the Manatee Chamber this year and have had the chance to watch him lead a very successful organization.

Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida. The girls and young women in our community need people to help guide them. With Girl Scouts, I have served on boards and been involved for years. They have been encouraging girls at all ages to be confident in who they are  and to conduct themselves with the highest of morals and integrity. Sue Stewart, CEO of Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, does a great job leading that organization. She provides leaders for our community in the future and gives them a firm foundation on which to build their careers.

TV News. I'm a news junkie, if you will. The local news stations are always on— ABC-7, NBC and CBS. Here at the office I watch a lot of Channel 19. I just like to keep abreast of the community, and of course the weather is very important to what we do here at FPL. Whether it’s thunderstorms, hurricanes or tropical storms, weather is important to us as a company.

The Golden Rule. I live by the rule of treating people how you want to be treated. I have a pretty wide territory I cover for FPL and a lot of people I deal with on a daily basis. I try and treat each one as I would want to be treated.

Florida State University. I just went to the Florida State national game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and cheered on my alma mater. I am one of five kids, and four were Florida State students. It's great fun to go whether we are winning or losing. It's just an identity you have with some people and a great rivalry with everybody else.

Tampa Bay Rays. I am a season ticket holder, and even though the Rays are outside our service territory, they to me are the home team. I also watch the Pirates during spring training and sometimes the Orioles, but I like the Rays. I like [General Manager] Joe Maddon and all the players. I grew up in Fort Lauderdale when the Marlins became a team, but when I moved here 18 years ago, I became a Rays fan. Matt Joyce is my favorite player; I caught a line drive from him at a spring training game. One day I will get it signed by him. I know I will.

Bell Choir. I play the bells in my church choir at Living Lord Lutheran Church in Lakewood Ranch. I was a marching chief for four years at Florida State University and played clarinet in high school. I like music and dabble in it. We practice once a week for an hour and a half. There are 12 of us. It’s pretty interesting. I play about four bells, and I play in the higher range, so the bells themselves are small.

FPL. I'm celebrating 30 years with Florida Power and Light. Who knew electricity could be so much fun? It's a great place to have a career. Most think of it as just the poles and wires, but there is so much more this field requires. I have worked in accounting and in IT developing software programs where we rewrote the whole customer service program. I have worked for commercial and industrial customers. I've worked with poles and wires and crews, and I led our storm teams in ‘04 and ’05. We employ everyone from auto mechanics to biologists to marketing people and our traditional engineers. There are very diverse opportunities if you are willing to accept change.

United Way. I support the United Way, due to all the help for the people in our community. My son Benjamin has cerebral palsy and he goes to the United Cerebral Palsy events. We have a great family support system, and the United Way has been very important for us.

Solar Power. I was on the ground floor for bringing the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center. We had owned property out near Arcadia since the ‘60s, and the community would ask what we were going to do with property. One day someone said they would like us to do solar. We started working with the community and we hired neighbors to build it. I was at the signing ceremony when Gov. Crist signed the bill allowing us to open it, and I was out there when President Obama came out for the official commissioning. It’s hugely important to FPL.

Susan G. Komen Foundation. Last year my four sisters, my nieces and I walked in the 60-mile Susan G. Komen walk in Ohio. My mom passed away from breast cancer in 1998, and we walked in her honor last year. S