Lowery Honored by Appointment to SAEC Board

Like most people, David Lowery never really thought about how electricity gets to his home until he was approached to serve as a member of the South Alabama Electric Cooperative (SAEC) Board of Trustees.

“It kind of came at me out of the blue, to be honest,” Lowery says. “I was certainly honored to get the opportunity. It just was not something I expected, but I was certainly very appreciative and glad to serve and help in any way I could.”

Appointed in August from the cooperative’s District 6, Lowery fills the seat left vacant after the death of longtime board member Douglas Green.

Lowery grew up in Georgiana in Butler County, not far from where he currently lives in the Mt. Zion community in Crenshaw County.

Most people in the area know him for his 14 years as head football coach at Brantley High School, but he also spent 10 years as an educator and coach in Elba, where he met his wife, Kim. He was the head football coach for 2 years and the head baseball coach in Elba before moving to Brantley in 1999.

Lowery spent 26 years as an educator and athletic coach before retiring from full-time work. He worked for another 5 years in a part-time capacity, which gave him the opportunity to coach with his sons, Andrew and Trey, at Straughn High School.

“We had a good time with that,” Lowery says.

Lowery currently works with Woodmen Life as a recruiting sales manager. He enjoys deer hunting and family trips to the beach, as well as being a spectator at ball games coached by his sons at Brantley and Enterprise high schools.

Married 32 years, he and Kim have 1 granddaughter, 2-year-old Eva Blake. They are members of Mt. Zion Baptist Church.

Lowery says he has a lot to learn about the cooperative’s District 6, as well as the service area overall, so he can better understand how to help the cooperative serve its members.

“Certainly, I’m available to anyone in my district who wants to call and offer suggestions,” he says.

Garrett, Snyder Chosen for New Terms on SAEC’s Board

Along with the yearly financial report, South Alabama Electric Cooperative (SAEC) announced the results of its 2025 elections — which returned 2 current trustees to the board — during its annual meeting held on October 28 at the cooperative’s office in Troy.

In his remarks, SAEC General Manager David Bailey emphasized the importance of the distribution cooperative being prepared to respond in crisis events, such as a tornado that ripped through the service territory earlier this year, taking down utility poles and electrical lines.

“Your cooperative must be prepared to respond with employees to repair the damage and financially to pay for that damage,” Bailey said.

Operating revenues increased $3,600,000 during the 2024-25 budget year ending March 31, while operating expenses increased $2,700,000 over the previous year, mainly due to wholesale power costs. The cooperative ended the fiscal year with net margins of more than $4,100,000.

SAEC gets 57% of its electricity sales from residential members, 33% from large commercial members and 10% from small commercial members. The continued increase in large commercial members has positively impacted the cooperative, Bailey said.

Wholesale power accounts for 65% of SAEC’s expenses. Another 21% goes to the cooperative’s operations.

Bailey announced that trustees voted to retire $1,200,000 in capital credits during 2025, which will be refunded to members in December. Since 1984, SAEC has retired and refunded more than $20,000,000 in capital credits.

“Your cooperative is in good financial condition and is prepared to serve your electric needs,” Bailey reported to members.

Members cast a total of 2,863 ballots in the 2025 election for the District 1 and 2 seats on the SAEC Board of Trustees.

For the District 1 seat, incumbent Johnny Garrett was nominated along with Steve Thrash, of the Shiloh community.

Incumbent Bart Snyder and Chris Wilkes, of the Rodgers community, were nominated for District 2. Members voted in favor of Garrett and Snyder serving on the board for another 3 years.

District 1

District 1 Johnny Garrett has served on the board for 5 years. A Pike County native, Garrett attended Pike County High School and Troy University. He retired after 35 years as owner of the Piggly Wiggly locations in Brundidge and Troy.

Garrett is a member of the Pike County Cattlemen’s Association and serves as treasurer.

He and his wife, Patricia, live in the Pronto community in Pike County. Garrett attends Brundidge United Methodist Church, where he serves as a trustee and president of the church council.

District 2

Bart Snyder has served on the board for 2 years. He attended Goshen High School and earned a master’s degree in educational administration and a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Troy University.

Retired from the Pike County School System, Snyder taught and coached for 34 years.

Snyder has received his Board Leadership Certificate and Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

He and his wife, Stephanie, live in Goshen. Snyder is a member of the Little Oak Methodist Church.

You Know, There’s Hope

I am truly amazed when I read something in the Bible that prophesies about things centuries before the event occurs. That brings me to the Book of Isaiah.

Isaiah started his prophecy approximately 740 years before Jesus Christ was born, which is referred to in time as B.C. or Before Christ. Isaiah urges the people to care for the poor and the needy, commit to following God’s ways, and pursue social and economic justice. Sounds like more people today need to study the Book of Isaiah.

But he also wrote about the sign of Immanuel. In Isaiah 7:14, he wrote, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

Immanuel means “God with us.” Again, in Isaiah 9:6, he tells us that God’s son will be born as a baby and called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” On December 25, we celebrate these prophecies coming true in the birth of God’s son, Jesus, as the Messiah. In this truth, there is hope!

As I write about things in the Bible or types of energy sources and climate change in my monthly column, I would be naive to think everyone agrees with me. But the freedom to express yourself is 1 of the greatest attributes of living in the United States of America. This column is my platform to express my beliefs and insights into the electric industry. The reader can agree or disagree and civilly express their opinions to me.

It saddens my heart to hear the hate speech and attacks toward individuals who believe differently. This evil has led to a Bible-based conservative being murdered in front of thousands of college students and a presidential candidate being shot while at a political rally. If you cannot accept that not everyone is going to believe as you and you cannot discuss your thoughts in a civil manner, then follow the Bible’s guidance. If someone does not want to hear what you have to say, knock the dust from your feet and move on.

We must look toward the Prince of Peace. He fully understands the hate and evil of this world because the worldly hate was directed toward him over 2,000 years ago. But he overcame the worldly hate, and that gives me hope.

We need to take time this holiday season to look at ourselves and our words. Speak or write your beliefs and accept civil debate, but do not call people Nazis or Hitler unless you fully know the history of those individuals or the party that you’re comparing them to.

In 1972, I lived in West Germany. I had a wonderful teacher who believed in showing his students the history of Germany — not just in words but by seeing it. We took field trips to castles, toured vineyards, and visited West Berlin.

But the most profound trip was to the Dachau concentration camp. This camp, the first established by the Nazi government, was originally formed for political prisoners or opponents of the Nazi regime. Later, prisoners included Jews and homosexual individuals. These prisoners were used as forced laborers and in medical experiments, including those to test how long a human could survive in various water temperatures, mainly cold water. I saw the gas chambers where prisoners were killed and later cremated or bulldozed into mass graves. I asked my teacher what caused people to do this. He said, “Pure evil.”

My time at Dachau was 27 years after it was liberated by the American forces in 1945. Let me be clear, there are no places like Dachau in the United States, including Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Please, if you’re going to use terms to express the actions of others, follow the lead of the Wonderful Counselor and express yourself with civility and, most of all, love.

We should be grateful and thankful as the luckiest human beings alive to live in this country. At this time, the United States is the greatest country to ever exist, and I hope we all can agree on that. So, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus as Christians, we are to share our faith. We are all sinners, but we do have hope.

As I reflect on this season, the most important thing in my life is my faith. Merry Christmas to you all.

Couple Grows From College Kids Posting Outdoor Adventures to Buckmasters Stars

Shortly after meeting through mutual friends, Cody and Alyssa Hall began sharing their outdoor adventures on Instagram and TikTok, never dreaming they would 1 day become social media influencers for Buckmasters, an outdoors media company.

Their journey took them from college kids posting weekend outings of hunting and noodling for catfish to becoming part of the team now planning Buckmasters’ 40th anniversary celebration in 2026.

“We’re blessed to live what we call a ‘360 lifestyle’ where work, passion, and purpose align,” Alyssa says. “Our careers at Buckmasters aren’t just jobs, but are a natural extension of who we are, enabling us to live an outdoor lifestyle we love, while creating meaningful, authentic content that inspires others to do the same.”

Alyssa joined Buckmasters as a contract employee in April 2022. Then, in May 2023, Buckmasters founder and CEO Jackie Bushman hired Cody full-time as the company’s digital marketing manager to help shape the brand’s digital presence.

Based on Alyssa’s impact and reach, Buckmasters hired her full-time in September 2024 as director of content and influencer marketing.

“Jackie recognized the need to expand the brand’s content to better connect with the next generation of outdoorsmen and women through social media,” Alyssa says.

Bushman was so impressed with the couple’s commitment to conservation and hunting that he nominated them in the sports and outdoor category for the 2024 Soul of the South awards, presented by the Alabama digital publication SoulGrown.

“Jackie’s mentorship and leadership have taught us that success comes not just from working hard, but from finding joy and purpose in the journey,” Cody says.

From Noodling to Influencing

They had mutual friends, but Cody and Alyssa’s journey started with an Instagram post while they were students at Troy University.

“I wished her a happy birthday, then we got together with friends,” Cody says.

He invited Alyssa to go turkey hunting, wanting to share a love of the outdoors he first gained as a 5-year-old sitting beside his father in a deer stand.

“She grew up at the end of a cul-de-sac and had never hunted,” Cody says. “I’ll always remember her first turkey hunt, seeing her expression of awe watching the sun come up. She never did get a turkey, but realized it’s as much about the hunt as the harvest.”

Next, Alyssa wanted to try noodling — bare-handed fishing — and in 2017 began sharing her outdoor adventures on TikTok as Aly from Alabama. Together, Cody and Alyssa began posting their outings on Instagram as Southern Outdoor Adventures.

“At first, my noodling posts had a few hits, then suddenly went viral,” Alyssa says. “It was exciting to build a community of followers, particularly among women looking to step into the outdoor world.”

Her TikTok channel, @alyfromalabama, has 13,600,000 likes and 1,000,000 followers.

“The lifestyle that Cody introduced me to at age 20 completely transformed my life,” she says. “If you’d told 19-year-old me that I’d become an avid hunter, catch catfish with my bare hands, and work for Buckmasters, I would’ve laughed you out of the room.”

While they were at Troy University, they never intended to be influencers, Cody says.

“We were broke college kids sharing online what we loved — hunting, noodling, fishing, and just being outdoors,” he says.

In 2018, Cody graduated with a general business degree, while Alyssa earned a marketing degree in 2019. Cody was hired at Rex Lumber as the environment, health, and safety manager. Alyssa handled social media for Hoist, an energy drink company based in Cincinnati.

Living a Dream

After they married in October 2019 and made their home near Goshen, they decided their priorities would be faith, family, and the outdoors. Their lives would be guided by a favorite quote: “Faith is the bridge between where I am and the place God is taking me.”

The Halls kept posting online, unaware they had caught Bushman’s attention.

“We visited with him at the Buckmasters Expos, but we never dreamed we’d work for him,” Cody says.

"We used the company’s products and always tagged them on our sites. His passion and persistence inspired us.”

They knew about Bushman’s legendary accomplishments as the popular host of “Buckmasters,” the longest-running hunting show on television. An avid whitetail deer hunter and entrepreneur, Bushman launched Buckmasters to do for whitetail deer hunting what Bassmaster did for bass fishing. Bushman started with a newsletter that evolved into a magazine. 2 years later, he persuaded The Nashville Network to run the first whitetail hunting show on cable TV. Today, the show airs on the Outdoor Channel.

Buckmasters transitioned to a multimedia company. Last year, Bushman moved the headquarters closer to downtown Montgomery, where the company has a cutting-edge podcast studio and editing room for the first time.

“For us, being part of the Buckmasters internal team is a dream come true,” Alyssa says.

Looking ahead, the Halls envision “expanding community outreach and educational initiatives that bring families together to get more people outdoors,” Alyssa says.

As they raise their children, the Halls say they will pass on their values that come with outdoor living — patience, respect for nature, and conservation.

“We’re blessed to wake up every day and make a living doing what we love,” Cody says.

Slots Open for 2026 Montgomery Youth Tour

Each year, high school juniors around Alabama get the opportunity to represent their local electric cooperatives in the state’s capital, learning about cooperatives’ impact on their lives and how state government operates.

South Alabama Electric Cooperative (SAEC) sees the Montgomery Youth Tour as a way to encourage today’s youth to participate in their communities, learn leadership skills, and become a driving force in tomorrow’s world. That’s why we are thrilled to be seeking a new group of students for the 2026 Montgomery Youth Tour.

Deadline to apply for the Montgomery Youth Tour is Friday, December 12.

If you are a junior attending a high school in the SAEC service area within Pike, Coffee, or Crenshaw counties, or if your parents are members of SAEC, you’re eligible to apply for Youth Tour. This enriching experience includes visits to historic sites, team-building activities with students from across the state, and the chance to meet with elected officials. From those students chosen to visit Montgomery, SAEC will select 2 to represent the cooperative in Washington, D.C., for the 2026 Washington Youth Tour in June.

The 2026 Montgomery Youth Tour will be March 11 through March 13.

A panel will review all applications and conduct interviews in January to select the group of students to represent SAEC in Montgomery.

Here’s how to apply and some tips to consider:

1. Pick up an application from your school’s guidance counselor or download the form from southaec.com.
2. Write an essay explaining why you should be chosen to represent SAEC.
3. Learn about electric cooperatives, SAEC, and your local senators and representatives. Your research will come in handy as you will be asked about these topics during your interview.
4. After completing the application and supporting documents, return them to your guidance counselor or mail them to:
   ATTN: Andy Kimbro
   P.O. Box 449
   Troy, AL 36081

Be Thankful & Responsible

November — which seems to come along a lot faster than it used to — always gives me pause to consider the things I'm thankful for.

First and foremost, I’m thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I want to represent Him in my work, my family, in all aspects of life. I’m thankful for Him giving me that chance. It is a daily challenge to serve Him to the fullest.

I’m thankful to live in a country where people have entered military service, whether drafted or voluntarily, to defend this country so we all may have the right to speak our minds — not to mandate, brutalize or intimidate, but the freedom to speak our beliefs.

Lastly, I’m thankful for my mother, Nan Rae Wilson Roth. This is her birthday month, and I’m thankful for the mother she has been through the years, a rock providing me with the base to live my life in a positive manner.

But I also look back and ask myself this question: Where are we going with all this stuff that’s being spewed out in the electric industry? You hear about climate change and about how the electric industry cannot serve future demand with the projected growth in data centers and organic growth. There are real challenges out there. The electric demand challenges will definitely have to be addressed. The demand challenges are solved by building a generation power plant, which comes with a high cost.

Politics can help with some of those challenges or hurt, but people will have to act on these challenges.

We must get rid of all the hoopla surrounding what politicians or groups want our electric industry to look like and focus on an electric industry that really works. The common-sense electric industry model must continue to develop solutions in a cost-effective and reliable manner. The solutions mandating 100% renewable by 2035 by various states with no regard to reliability and cost, are like my college accounting teacher used to say, “That’s just drugs; it will not work.” There are people or groups that think the renewable path is the answer — I guess they like drugs!

The way I see the challenge of members wanting to install renewables for their electric needs on their property is to go for it. But if those same members wish to connect to the cooperative’s distribution system, then they should have to pay for the cost to connect. This issue is a challenge for distribution co-ops. If the renewable electric member wants electricity just for backup in case their renewable energy doesn’t work, then other members could be subsidizing the renewable member. Another big issue with renewables is that they normally do not work without subsidized costs from our government.

If it works, I’ve said many times, capitalism will provide the method for it to work. If it has to be held up by the federal government, then it’s not a reliable answer.

This issue did not occur overnight. Politics can give a direction. People must solve it. There’s no greater model of federal government providing direction, not subsidizing, than back in 1935 when the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) was developed through politics with an executive order under Franklin D. Roosevelt. The following year, it was funded through Congress. The REA funding provided loans to rural electric cooperatives, not subsidized grant funding. They opened the door, but people made it work and got it where it is today.

The board of trustees, your cooperative employees, and our generation and transmission cooperative employees will address future electric challenges head-on.

Over the past 2 and a half years, we have been fortunate enough to plan the operations of South Alabama Electric Cooperative (SAEC) so as not to require rate increases. It is our goal to keep going in that direction, but we must understand that when we are projecting to build and supply electric power to our membership, the cost to do so is going to increase.

We work for you, the members, and must look at being efficient and building our system in a positive, reliable manner, not through whims that come down the pipeline. I have faith that we will develop solutions that work and come forth to give you the best, reliable electric service at a reasonable cost.

Politics will not solve this; the people and member-owned cooperatives will.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, and be thankful for the great country that we have the pleasure of living in. Also, give thanks to God for the many blessings that we have.

Troy welcomed Ted Clem home this spring with a whirlwind of activity. On April 1, he took the helm as president of the Pike County Economic Development Corp., and at the end of the month, Clem donned a black tie for his induction into the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame.

Clem’s position at Pike County EDC continues a career path that began with classes he took at Troy State, where he was a kicker for the football team for 4 years. As a walk-on his freshman year, he helped the Trojans secure the 1984 Division II NCAA national championship with “The Kick,” a 50-yard field goal he made as the game clock expired.

“My degree was journalism, but back then, we were required to have a major and 2 minors, and 1 of my minors was economic geography,” Clem says. “Sounds odd, but I was fascinated by the subject, and that’s kind of what developed my interest in economic development.”

After graduating from Troy State, he earned a master’s degree in economic development at the University of Southern Mississippi.

His years at Troy State influenced Clem’s career and set a solid foundation for his personal life. There, he met fellow student Stacey Clark, who became his wife. Their 3 children are all Troy University graduates who also call Troy home.

“They lived in different places, but just through circumstances, they all found their way back to Troy to start families of their own,” says Clem, now a grandfather of 4. So, in addition to his job at Pike County EDC, “it’s a great motivating factor for us to move back here.”

Small-Town Draw

Clem grew up in rural Butler County, where his parents still live, about 45 minutes from Troy. That small-town background plays a big role in how he approaches leading Pike County EDC.

“Our main goal is to help Pike County grow in a way that enhances our quality of life in the small-town feel that draws us all to this area,” he says. “So, we’re not trying to compete with the Birminghams or even Montgomery. We’re trying to be the best community place to live in that we can be and to attract industry and businesses to the area that fit into that mold.”

Clem’s appointment as president of the Pike County EDC came after a nationwide search. “Our board unanimously chose Ted Clem,” says John Ramage, the organization’s chairman and board of directors member. “Ted is committed to growing Pike County and attracting new industries to our area.”

Before returning to Troy for the position, Clem spent 10 years as senior project manager for business development at the Alabama Department of Commerce. In the 2 decades before that, he held economic development posts in Andalusia, Pensacola, Panama City, Florida, and Albany, Georgia.

During Clem’s commerce department tenure in Montgomery, Alabama saw the creation of 60,000 new jobs and capital investments exceeding $800 million. Clem was integral in the recruitment of new industries to the state, reflective of a mentality that his former Troy State head football coach, Chan Gailey, described during Clem’s Sports Hall of Fame induction.

“He was solid as a rock, never up, never down,” says Gailey, a fellow Troy Hall of Fame member whose coaching resume includes top college programs and NFL teams. “He was always focused on the next play. He went about his business, focused on what he was doing. He was trying to get better every day.”

Getting better is still a priority for Clem. “Right now, I’m just trying to get out to meet and introduce myself to all of our local industry, getting to understand their needs in the community and how we can assist them, help them be more successful here in the county,” he says.

“Pike County industry is a fairly diverse mix,” Clem says, including plastics recycling, defense, food and gun production, and forest products. “The primary focus of the job here is going to be working with our existing companies and trying to help them grow.”

Leaping Into Fall

October is a wonderful month. It’s a time when we may have some hot weather, but by the end, it is usually beginning to feel a lot like fall.

Farmers are gathering their crops of cotton, peanuts, and corn. And there are many outdoor activities, from hunting to high school football. For the college game in our great state, we’re fortunate to have the University of Alabama, Auburn — War Eagle for those of you who are fans — and Troy University playing great football throughout October. Best of all, October is my anniversary month, so happy anniversary, Nelda!

Also, October is what we electric cooperatives call a shoulder month. What does that mean? For our members, it means your power bill is usually not as high. As temperatures start to cool, your air conditioning doesn’t work as hard to keep your home comfortable.

This is also the month when South Alabama Electric Cooperative holds its annual meeting. By now, you should have received your meeting package with the annual report and voting instructions for trustees in districts 1 and 2. These trustees are voted on by the members, and the winner will serve as your representative to the co-op for the next 3 years.

1 of the 7 principles of a cooperative is Democratic Member Control. What does that mean? As a member of South Alabama Electric Cooperative, you can exercise that principle by voting for your trustee of choice. The trustees are elected among the membership and are accountable to the members. The members have equal voting rights — 1 member, 1 vote. If that isn’t reason enough to vote, you can even lower your power bill simply by filling out the ballot. The process is very quick, and you will get a $20 bill credit.

So, take the time to complete your ballot — make sure to add your email and cellphone numbers — and exercise your voice by voting for the trustee you wish to serve you.

I also hope you will take a few minutes to look over the annual report. With costs continuing to climb, as they seem to have done everywhere over the past few years, I am happy to say the cost of your electric service from SAEC has not changed in over 2 years. That is a great accomplishment, and I would like to give a shout-out to all our employees who help manage the costs of running your co-op in a financially responsible manner.

I would also like to express the same appreciation to the current board of trustees. We recently said goodbye to board member Douglas Green, who represented District 6 for over 40 years. Everything is always changing. As I was sad to lose a man who truly believed in me, the trustees changed, too. This change made way for David Lowery from South Crenshaw County. We are excited and honored to welcome Mr. Lowery, who has had a long career as a football coach and educator in the public school system, most recently in Brantley.

So, if you see Mr. Lowery, congratulate him and let him know how much you appreciate his service to our cooperative. I am confident he will serve the members in a way that will make us all proud.

Finally, you may have noticed that I gave a “War Eagle” earlier in my column. That was a shoutout for all our members who pull for the Tigers. But as a graduate of Troy University, back when it was Troy State University, I always have to leave room to say, “Go Trojans!” And as a huge Alabama football fan, you know I had to squeeze in a “Roll Tide!”

Until next month, enjoy a beautiful October as we leap into the fall of the year.

As a member of South Alabama Electric Cooperative, voting on who represents you on the cooperative’s Board of Trustees is an important aspect of membership. Your voice and your vote matter.

All members should have received their 2025 Annual Meeting voting packets in the mail. If you haven’t voted yet, you still have time.

Cast your ballot in a few simple steps:

• Step 1: Review the candidate information in the packet and mark one choice for each district.
• Step 2: Place the completed ballot in the enclosed return envelope.
• Step 3: Mail your ballot. Include your email address and all your phone numbers to receive a $20 bill credit.

Ballots must be received by noon on Monday, October 27. The Annual Meeting will be held on October 28. Please allow sufficient time for mail delivery.

Note: Only 1 vote and credit per membership is allowed.

Statement of Nondiscrimination

South Alabama Electric Cooperative is the recipient of federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint-filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found on their website and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form.

To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

• Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410
• Fax: 202-690-7442
• Email Program Intake

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.