When a family friend offered him a chance to join FPL, he didn’t hesitate.

“I knew it was a great place to work. I reminded him I was only 17 at the time, but when I turned 18, just a few months later, I went to work for FPL as a bill deliverer.”

That decision would lead to nearly four decades of service and counting. This year, as FPL celebrates its 100th anniversary, Gauger, now a project director in engineering and construction, celebrates 38 years with the company.

After just six months in bill delivery, Gauger moved into meter reading, a role that helped him understand how every part of the company works together to deliver reliable power while keeping bills as low as possible.

“That was a huge step forward,” he says. “I stayed in that part of the company for 13 years, eventually becoming the lead at South Palm Meter Reading.”

From there, he transitioned into leadership roles and worked closely with mentors who helped him navigate FPL’s rapid growth and evolution.

“I had a couple of amazing mentors. They helped push me along,” Gauger says.

He credits one of those mentors, Ron Reagan, for shaping his engineering and construction journey.

“Ron and I met regularly for 2–3 years,” Gauger says. “He had a plan in mind. I went to work on the Carousel Energy Center in Colorado to support FPL’s sister company, NextEra Energy Resources. That was my first and one of my favorite projects, because I got to see it grow from the ground up.”

He also helped manage construction of FPL’s early solar projects, including Babcock Ranch in 2016, and later oversaw distributed generation projects, like FPL’s solar trees which provide energy while educating about the technology.

These experiences gave Gauger a front row seat to the company’s innovation and efficiency—values that benefit customers by driving costs out of the bill through a more diverse energy mix.

“The projects I have been honored to support are how we deliver on our promise to customers,” Gauger explains.

FPL’s operational excellence has helped keep typical customer bills among the lowest in the nation—about $24 lower each month than the average U.S. utility—while maintaining reliability that’s among the best in the country. Gauger takes pride in being part of that story.

“I just finished my 38th year with the company,” he says. “In a career, I don’t think I could have asked to work with better people. I have, over the decades, always had this great company looking out for my best interests as well as the best interests of our customers.”

Today, as the company continues to lead the way toward a more resilient energy future, Gauger’s focus remains on innovation and mentorship.

“My motivation is to see the company continue to grow into different technologies,” he says. “Our projects can be very complex, but it’s also very stimulating to watch a project go from an idea to operational.”

Beyond the scale of his work, Gauger finds joy in seeing others succeed.

“Some of my best career highlights were seeing people come in, like I did, and getting to help foster them into leadership, similar to what others did for me,” he says. “I like to think about what I can do for others to keep them moving forward. I want to give back.”

As FPL celebrates 100 years of powering Florida, Gauger’s story is a reminder that the company’s success is built on generations of people dedicated to service and progress.

After nearly four decades—and following in the footsteps of his grandfather—Gauger’s FPL pride remains as strong as ever.

“That’s my 38-year career so far,” he concludes. “I’ve worked all over the company, and I’ve loved every minute of it. And, at the end of the day, I feel good knowing what I do helps our customers. That’s what it’s all about.”