“Once a Marine, always a Marine,” chuckles Bill Glover as he prepares lunch for the dozen volunteers installing solar on his roof. Mr Glover is responding to a question about the length of his military service, but it’s clear the service has never left him.
After 20 years in the U.S Marine Corps, Mr Glover, now 81, began a long career at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and in his retirement attends community meetings almost every day. “He’s always going somewhere, he’s very plugged into the community,” says Mr Glover’s wife, Ida.
The Glovers live in the Skyline Heights neighborhood of San Diego -- Mrs Glover says things have changed on their street with house sales and renters moving in, but there’s still a strong sense of togetherness amongst neighbors -- and it’s that support network that led them to GRID.
“Cathy Ramsey runs a monthly community meeting on a Monday evening in our neighborhood and we go along to it whenever we can,” says Mrs Glover. A tireless community organizer, Ms. Ramsey -- herself a solar recipient through GRID -- persuaded the Glovers that GRID Alternatives was worth investigating.
Together the Glover’s talked over their options. Mr Glover already understood the environmental benefits of solar, but after careful research had decided it wasn’t financially viable for them to make an investment that large. Things changed when he heard what Ms. Ramsey had to say. “When I listened to GRID policies and the way it worked, I realized it could make sense for us,” says Mr Glover.
He has some advice for anybody who thinks they might be able to go solar with GRID, but who is on the fence. “Firstly, don’t be afraid to call and see if you qualify, it’s easy and it doesn’t hurt. Secondly, listen. Listen to the policy details and you might just end up with a very positive outcome.”