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March 2013


SWRE is longtime partner with Rural Schools


Electric cooperatives and rural schools have always had a special relationship. It seems that cooperatives and country schools have always shared common meeting places, patrons, and rural values. In the early years, electric cooperatives served nearly all of those schools. Rural education was a quality of life issue for all of those who lived on the farms, ranches, and homesteads. Rural families in both Oklahoma and Texas real-


ized the importance of education in the future for their children and took action to make sure that all students were served. I initially wanted to list or at least give the number


of schools in SWRE’s service area in 1937 when SWRE was incorporated. I soon gave up, though, when I realized that Tillman County alone still had 90 school districts at that time. Considering that we serve eleven counties in Oklahoma and Texas, I abandoned the pursuit of that number! I actually grew up near a small one-room school


in Tillman County called IXL. The fi rst school I at- tended was Weaver School, which was located west of Frederick. It seems like everything we did in those days revolved around the rural school, country church, and the rural electric and farmers’ cooperatives. The annual meetings for SWRE and the local farm- ers’ co-op were social gatherings that everyone attended with all of the family. Southwest Rural Electric still has a special rela- tionship with rural schools. Our cooperative has been an active supporter of all schools within our service territory. In addition to the support gener- ated by taxes, SWRE has encouraged the young people of our local communities in various ways. Of course, SWRE has always participated in


county and local livestock shows, trophy auctions, school projects, and sporting activities across our area.


by Mike R. Hagy Although SWRE encourages youth in all of area


school districts, SWRE has the privilege to directly serve the energy needs of three schools – Navajo School, northeast of Altus; Northside School, north of Vernon; and Harrold School, west of Electra. SWRE also serves specifi c facilities or services


for Altus and Tipton Schools, and we perform the electrical maintenance for the City of Electra and the Electra Schools. Two youth programs that have been very im- portant to the students of our area are SWRE’s 8th grade essay contest and the high school 11th grade youth tour competition. Each year 8th graders from area schools write competitive essays based on topics provided by SWRE. Eighth grade winners from each participat- ing school are awarded $50 and the overall win- ners from Texas and Oklahoma participate in a weeklong energy camp. The high school juniors write essays and semi-


fi nalists from all schools compete in an oral pre- sentation for an all-expenses-paid educational trip to Washington, D.C. All of the semifi nalists in the youth tour competition receive a $250 scholarship. Two 11th grade students who are runners-up in the youth tour contest are invited to a leadership symposium in January where they receive an ad- ditional $250 scholarship. The youth tour winners this year will be chosen


on March 26 and the winners will visit Washington, D.C. in June. The rural schools in our service territory in south-


west Oklahoma and north Texas are an important part of the quality of life that our members now expect in the rural areas. At SWRE we are proud to serve and support


those rural schools as we provide the electrical needs of our members through our vision of safety, service, and satisfaction – one member at a time.


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