Duval County

Florida power company lights up local veteran’s Christmas

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A St. Augustine veteran was surprised with 250,000 lights that now deck his home for the holiday.

Twenty-five volunteers with Florida Power & Light put them up for the Steeles Friday.

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”My life’s purpose is to serve others and I’m not so good at asking for help,” Kevin Steele said. “So incredibly thankful that someone would take the time to do this for us.”

Kevin is a Marine veteran with deployments in Pakistan and Afghanistan, working on communications including radios and satellites.

He retired in 2016 after meeting his wife Susan, who is also a Marine. Together they had three boys.

”I felt a little lost when I first retired — not sure what to do next,” he said.

His next mission also revolves around serving. Kevin works with the Ponte Vedra-based K9s for Warriors.

Kevin’s role is to interview and screen veterans to make sure they are a right match for the program and get acquainted with their new service dog.

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”I feel that’s my calling in life, and I’m just glad that I just get to help my fellow veterans.”

He said Christmas is a special time of the year for the family.

”We’re a Christmas family and she loves to decorate a lot, and most of the time [Susan] likes to decorate early,” Kevin said. “I don’t get around as fast as I used to.”

This year, FPL did the heavy-lifting for the Steeles.”

Being able to give back, it really means a lot. He’s a brother of ours,” Bryan Swindell with FPL said.