Southern Pioneer H.U.G.S. Program Gives to Local Organizations

Joe Denoyer - December 26, 2018 1:32 pm

On Tuesday, December 13, Southern Pioneer Electric’s Helping Us Give to Society (HUGS) representatives presented the City of Liberal Police Department with a donation to purchase an Elastec Drug Terminator Incinerator.
The $1,500 donation from the HUGS committee was matched by CoBank, making a total of $3,000 towards the police department’s equipment. CoBank, a cooperative bank serving agribusinesses, rural infrastructure providers and Farm Credit associations throughout the United States, is the main lender for Southern Pioneer Electric and matches certain donations throughout the year, via its Sharing Success program.
“Supporting the men and women who protect our communities is something we feel very strongly about,” said Southern Pioneer Electric HUGS representative Anita Wendt. “With their new equipment not only are we helping to support the department, but also the community we serve as well.”
The police department will use the incinerator to safely incinerate of any evidentiary drugs that are ready for disposal. The incinerator will be used in conjunction with the department’s new Med Safe Box, that takes in unused and expired medication from the public to be safely disposed of.
“I was excited that we were granted the funds and super surprised when we received the matching funds from CoBank,” said Evidence Supervisor Alison Clark. “We had applied with HUGS a few years ago for our Shop with a Cop program and they are always a great group to work with.”
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On December 3 Southern Pioneer Electric’s Helping Us Give to Society (HUGS) representatives presented the City of Satanta Dudley Fire Department with a donation to purchase protective grass fire gear.
The $1,000 donation from the HUGS committee will be matched by CoBank, making a total of $2,000 towards the fire department’s gear. CoBank, a cooperative bank serving agribusinesses, rural infrastructure providers and Farm Credit associations throughout the United States, is the main lender for Southern Pioneer Electric and matches certain donations throughout the year, via its Sharing Success program.
“HUGS is used for donations that are important to local communities and the Satanta fire department definitely fits into what we look for,” said Southern Pioneer Electric HUGS representative Dee Longoria. “These brave men and women protect our communities and we feel they are very deserving of our support.”
The fire department will use the gear to help better protect its fire fighters while fighting grassland fires. Specifically, the fire fighters will get new goggles and neoprene fire proof masks with filters.
Dudley Fire Department Member Wade Sunderland said, “We thank Southern Pioneer Electric and we really appreciate it. We were surprised by the CoBank matching donation and it will really help, especially with all the rain and growth we’ve had, we are expecting a pretty big fire season.”
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On December 11 Southern Pioneer Electric’s Helping Us Give to Society (HUGS) representatives presented the Young at Heart Senior Center in Plains with a donation to renovate some of the center.
The $2,500 donation from the HUGS committee will be matched by CoBank, making a total of $5,000 towards the center’s renovations to their front porch, including reroofing it and replacing the brick work. CoBank, a cooperative bank serving agribusinesses, rural infrastructure providers and Farm Credit associations throughout the United States, is the main lender for Southern Pioneer Electric and matches certain donations throughout the year, via its Sharing Success program.
“We try to help our seniors whenever we can and the importance to be able to do something of this scale that will last into the future can’t be overstated,” said Southern Pioneer Electric HUGS representative Dee Longoria.
The senior center has finished replacing the brick and is waiting on the metal roofing to be delivered. Senior Center Board Member Beulah Ratzlaff said “I just want to thank you for making this possible.”

Southern Pioneer Electric Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pioneer Electric Cooperative, is headquartered out of Ulysses, Kansas. Southern Pioneer Electric Company has local offices in Liberal and Medicine Lodge, Kansas

 
 
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