Illuminate USA

Well the beginning for me was that I got a call out of the blue of this company that was getting started in Pataskala and I'd never heard of it. You couldn't google it, but the beginning of this company came from our owners really wanting to be part of the solution in the solar industry here in the United States of America. And I'm so grateful because I started in June of 2023, which three years ago we had literally nothing, barely a payroll system, and now we have over 1,600 people that are working here at Illuminate and we are producing thousands of panels a day and providing premium wage jobs to people from Ohio. When I first stepped foot in here it was with winter coats on and there was nothing in here, nothing, nothing, barely. They were working on line one and that was just kind of a bare bones thing. It was crazy to see, to really see how far this has come. It's been something else. I've met so many different people from all different cultures. It's just a big melting pot here, it really is. So Illuminate USA is one of the most diverse and culturally rich places that I work in. So I'm from Senegal and my dad is from Mauritania, which is in West Africa. And most of my friends here are either from Pataskala, Ohio, and as far as Nepal, which is a wide range of cultures that you get to deal with every day. And I think that is amazing that we are united by one goal, which is producing renewable energy in the U.S. I think the biggest thing that I want to make sure people know that Illuminate USA exists I'm from Ohio, born and raised, and it's hard sometimes when people look at you like Illuminate, what is that? And so we, you know, we're kind of this hidden gem here in Pataskala, Ohio. I think the second largest employer in Licking County in a very short amount of time. So three years ago we had nothing and now we have a really full facility, fully productive team and that we've grown. And so wanting to know that this exists here in Ohio, but also in the United States. We're the largest single site solar manufacturing company in the western hemisphere of the world and one of the most advanced. And nobody knows that we exist here in the United States, let alone in Pataskala, Ohio. Solar, I think for a lot of us, we don't really know or didn't know exactly what it was. So then when you come here and you see the possibilities and what it's capable of, you learn a lot of things. And I think we're all still learning how important it can be and how important it will be. But the people at the bank, when I go into my bank, I'm always, they say I'm always talking about, they go, we've never heard anybody talk so highly of their job like you do. Because I always try and get them to apply here and stuff. It's changed my life and my kids life. We're doing things that we've never had a chance to do. We're going on cruises and things like that. My financial future is looking brighter and brighter. It's great. I think I'm even going to go to Harley.