CEO’s Message – March 2026
Pennies From Heaven
Every time it rains, it rains
Pennies from heaven
Don’t you know each cloud contains
Pennies from heaven– Bing Crosby, “Pennies from Heaven”
I was in a bit of a daze on a warm Sunday afternoon—April 14, 2019. I had just agreed to rent a small condo in south Tempe after meeting the landlord, and I had to figure out how to furnish it. As weird as it may sound, I had never lived alone after almost 58 years on the planet.
I had left Colorado earlier that morning, my apprehensive wife softly crying, and me knowing deep in my soul this was the right thing to do, but simultaneously battling big doubts I could pull this thing off. How in the world was I going to manage to live on my own, navigate a new city, and live up to the expectations of my new job?
As I stepped onto the landing of my newly rented home, I glanced down, and there was a penny. I thanked God for the omen. I needed it badly.
A few weeks later, I was walking from my car to the front doors of our Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association offices. While things had started out OK, clouds roiled about my consciousness. The association’s finances were worrisome. There was a personnel issue to handle. Now forgotten urgencies crowded my thoughts. Had I made the right choice to come here? At that point, it was too late to turn back. I glanced down, and there was a penny. I thanked God for the omen. I needed it badly.
Sometime late, I began to have weird abdominal pain. As someone who is convinced every twinge is the portent of my demise, I began to worry. Doctor visits and tests were inconclusive and vaguely reassuring, but they weren’t enough to ease my mind. I was on a business trip in Omaha, walking through the bricked streets of the Old Market area, thinking about what was going on with my body. I glanced down, and there was a penny. I thanked God for the omen. I needed it badly.
I foolishly agreed to run for the board of our homeowners’ association. Significant capital projects needed to be completed. We needed to raise more than $1,000,000 from only 80 residents. They agreed, and now five volunteers were tasked with overseeing a massive undertaking. The process was hellacious.
At one critical juncture, I was out for my morning walk, chewing through all the machinations of the project and fearing failure. I glanced down, and there was a penny. I thanked God for the omen. I needed it badly.
And here we are at the end of my wonderful journey at GCSECA. I could write volumes about the amazing people I’ve become friends with and worked alongside, and the tremendous things we’ve accomplished together. My heart is full of gratitude. I am so happy I took that leap seven years ago.
I’ll leave you with a message in a fortune cookie I got on my second night here: The whole world is a narrow bridge; the important thing is not to be afraid.
Dave Lock
CEO