Cooperatives Help Local YMCA Make a Splash

The annual support campaign helps fund the YMCA’s scholarship program, which helps low-income families with membership and program fees so they can take advantage of the YMCA’s offerings. The support also helps to keep programs affordable for all members, provides upkeep for the facility and helps with the overall sustainability of the YMCA.

YMCA CEO Rob Rixon said the center could not serve the community at the level it does without the support of the community.

“We rely on the generous contributions of the community to enable the YMCA to serve Texas County,” Rixon said. “Every donation makes a difference and is tax-deductible.”

While nearly 94 percent of the YMCA’s operating expenses are funded through membership-related fees, the annual support campaign helps to cover the remaining expenses as well as unexpected ones that may arise.

“A recent example of an unplanned expense is the pool pump repair that took place in January and cost around $3,000,” Rixon said. “Funds from the 2011 support campaign helped make that repair possible while keeping the organization in sound financial health.”

The YMCA has raised nearly half of its campaign goal of $65,000. Rixon said any business, community organization or individual interested in supporting the YMCA can contact them by phone at 580-338-5720 or ychildcare@ptsi.net for additional information.

Make College Your Goal. PTCI Has Your Future at Heart.

Panhandle Telephone Cooperative Inc.’s Scholarship Program is starting its twenty-third year of providing scholarships to high school seniors. This year, PTCI will award $10,000 in scholarships to students throughout the exchange areas that encompass the counties of Cimarron, Texas, Beaver, and Harper.

 

 Thank you OPSU!

PTCI Tailgate Team – Randy Jacobs, Ross Holland, Stephanie Chapman and Carol Grider

Tailgate Chili Recipe

 
  

Above & Beyond- Lindsey Moore, Mona Cruzan, and Abel Hinojosa

 

 

 

When Lindsey Moore received a phone call from a lady in Coffeyville, Kansas, who wanted a Mother’s Day gift for her elderly mother, Lindsey teamed up with Mona Cruzan and Abel Hinojosa to come up with a solution. Mona found a hearing impaired phone that met the customer’s needs and helped her to purchase it. Lindsey made a Mother’s Day card to put in the box, and Abel shipped the phone to the mother since our call-in customer lived out of the area. The customer was very pleased with her purchase and PTCI’s customer service. Way to go! They just gave excellent customer service exceeding expectations, and that is what we do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leslie Kraich, PTCI Public Relations Representative presenting check to Rachel Jones vice chair for the Panhandle Services for Children

PTCI Nominates Panhandle Services for Children for $2,500 Grant

Panhandle Services for Children was recently awarded a grant of $2,500 based upon a nomination by PTCI. As a member of the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO), PTCI can nominate worthy organizations within their service area. The Panhandle Services for Children is located at 216 4th Street in Guymon is now operational thanks to local support from businesses such as PTCI. The Texas County Coalition has worked together with service agencies to open the shelter that provides emergency short term placement for children birth to 18 years. Some of these services are being provided by the county at this time. By providing shelter The Texas County Coalition is hoping to resolve workload issues with social workers in the area, and provide a safe place nearby to take children.

Will the FCC Rural Broadband Plan affect you?
 Broadband Speeds in Rural America Could Be Limited

 
Senator James Inhofe
1900 NW Expressway St., Suite 1210
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
Phone: 202-224-4721/E-mail:
http://inhofe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
 

Congressman Frank Lucas
2728 Williams Ave., Suite F
Woodward, OK 73801
Phone: 580-256-5752/E-mail:
https://forms.house.gov/lucas/contact-form.shtml

Senator Tom Coburn
100 N. Broadway, Suite 1820
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Phone: 202-224-5754/E-mail:
http://coburn.senate.gov/public/?p=ContactForm

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a new broadband plan
that may impact your service. The proposal promises Internet speeds of 100 Mbps
to at least 100 million Americans by the year 2020, but establishes a
dangerously low threshold of just 4 Mbps for rural/high cost areas such as the
Oklahoma Panhandle. Rural consumers, businesses, farms, hospitals, schools,
libraries, etc. will have substandard service while urban areas get speeds of 25
times faster. Reliable, high-speed broadband has become the essential service of
today. Broadband can improve the lives of all consumers, but access is
especially important for those of us living in rural America. The Internet gives
small businesses the opportunity to reach customers nationwide, offers local
students the chance to take classes online and allows doctors to remotely
diagnose patients and even offer remote emergency care.

The Communications Act requires that rural consumers have access to
communications services at prices that are affordable and reasonably comparable
to those available in urban areas. Rather than support this same universal
service philosophy for broadband, the FCC’s plan offers faster, better services
to some Americans while guaranteeing lesser service to others.

Don’t let the FCC keep our rural community on the slow side of the digital
divide. You deserve comparable speed at affordable prices. The FCC and Congress
must redirect the broadband plan to ensure 100 Mbps service is the goal for ALL
consumers, not just a select few. Contact your congressional representative.
Urge them to support regulatory action that ensures equal access to broadband
for all Americans.

To learn more about this issue, contact a PTCI Public Relations Representative
at 338-2556.