- February 13, 2025
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Florida Power and Light partnered with Denis V. Cooper Foundation to give Carlos Moreira and his family a surprise holiday light display.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoFPL and USF volunteers, a.k.a Elves, make way to get working on holiday light decorations.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoFPL and USF volunteers, a.k.a Elves, get to work on decorating Carlos's front yard.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoKaitlyn Kramer, Taylor Wey, Clara Reynardus de Villanueva, Darren Grambrell and Anthony Weimer help each other to hang lights.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoClara Reynardus de Villanueva, Madison McMahon, Katie Kiselewski and Karina Bayona help with the holiday light decorations.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoFPL and USF volunteers, a.k.a Elves, get to work on decorating Carlos's front yard.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoTaylor Garner, Xavier Patrick and Ray Vargas help decorate the front yard tree.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoClara Reynardus de Villanueva, Jay Riley, Marrie Neumer and Pam Gleason decorate the front porch with holiday lights.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoFPL and USF volunteers, a.k.a Elves, get to work on decorating Carlos's front yard
Photo by Dariela DelgadoAdam Mohr gets on a ladder to finish wrapping the front yard tree with holiday lights.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoAdam Mohr gets on a ladder to finish wrapping the front yard tree with holiday lights.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoAntonia Ripo creates a reindeer
Photo by Dariela DelgadoLisa Barker and Barbara Carroll starts cleaning up for the grand arrival of the Moreira family.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoMaverick Johnson and Gary Kortzendorf finish decorating the fence with holiday lights.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoMaverick Johnson and Gary Kortzendorf finish decorating the fence with holiday lights.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoFPL and USF volunteers, a.k.a Elves, wait for the arrival of the Moreira family.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoKelli Gross and Mike Catarzi have a little fun as they wait for the arrival of the Moreira family.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoCarlos Moreira makes his arrival.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoCarlos Moreira in surprise by the kind gesture of FPL and USF volunteers.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoFPL and USF volunteers give gifts to Carlos Jr. Moreira.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoFPL and USF volunteers give gifts to Miguel Moreira.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoFPL, USF volunteers and the Moreira family gather together for pictures.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoRayne Moreira shows love for her husband Carlos Moreira.
Photo by Dariela DelgadoThe season of giving back is in the air.
Florida Power and Light Company has celebrated this annual holiday tradition of giving back to local heroes for 15 consecutive years. With the help of the Denis V. Cooper Foundation, a Sarasota veteran and his family received a holiday surprise to remember.
Carlos Moreira spent more than 15 years on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps plus three years as a reservist before enrolling at University of South Florida. Since retiring from military service, Carlos has continued to give back as a veteran services administrator at USF’s Military and Veterans' Success Center.
“I was a student at USF and Carlos helped me out a lot with G.I. Bill and the benefits. My dad was in the military and I’m a dependent. I met Carlos through the USF Veterans Success Center. He got me a job as a work study,” said USF alumna Madison McMahon. "He's involved in everything. He is a great person to have on your side."
With the help of Carlos’ wife, Rayne Moreira,the Denis V. Cooper Foundation and Florida Power and Light was able to show how appreciative they are of Carlos and his heart of helping veterans, the nation and the community.
”FPL reached out to us and asked us to nominate a vet. I asked some people. We work with veteran organizations all throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties. I knew Carlos, but I didn’t think about it, however, he was mentioned by other people. So, we nominated Carlos to FPL, then FPL reached out to his wife, who kept it a secret and worked with her to make sure he wasn’t home so we could do this,” said Maverick Johnson, founder of the Denis V. Cooper Foundation.
FPL and USF volunteer “elves” started going to work converting his front yard into a winter wonderland.
After two hours of dedicated light decorating, The “elves” waited for Carlos, Rayne and two children Carlos Jr. and Miguel Moreira to arrive home.
When the Moreira family arrived, Carlos was in disbelief. He jumped out of his vehicle with a big smile as his coworkers and FPL volunteers cheered ‘woohoo' and 'Carlos, Carlos, Carlos.'
The FPL and USF "elves" gifted Carlos Jr. and Miguel toys right after the grand arrival.
"I'm shocked even though I was in on the surprise," said Rayne Moreira
"When I saw that all my security cameras were off, I was like, 'what's going on?' said Carlos Moreira as he lifted his eyebrow toward his wife. "At the end of the day, it's about helping people. The more you help people the more you help your community without thinking about it."
With a smile, Carlos says that now he doesn't have to do the decorating.