Published monthly by Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc.
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FEBRUARY 2024
T WATTS
A look at the past year with CEO Juli Orme Booker T. Washington once said, “Nothing ever comes to one that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.” For three intense years, that is what we have done – worked hard. For many months, and at times seven days a week, our team invested their time and talents to complete an incredibly challenging task of building a fiber-to-the-premises network for every member of CHEC. This project provides high-speed internet and phone services to many who have gone without. [435701] In October 2020, the Board of Trustees voted to begin this tremendous project. The engineering of the network started in January of 2021, and by October 2021, Cookson Hills Connect, our wholly owned subsidiary of CHEC, successfully connected the first fiberto-the-home subscriber. We are excited to say that we have completed the fiber backbone construction of our entire network. By the end of January 2024, we were able to offer high-speed fiberto-the-premises and voice services to every member of CHEC. That means almost 19,000 locations that did not have access to 1-gigabit symmetrical speed fiberoptic internet now have access to one of the most elite systems in the state, and it was accomplished in only three years, thanks to the hard work of many. Throughout this process, we contributed to the economic development of our rural areas and communities. Many temporary construction jobs were created, which has led to permanent placement of positions for local folks through contractors. And because of this project, CHEC has hired twelve
permanent skilled positions, with more to come. To date, we have almost 6,000 connected subscribers, with hundreds more signed up and awaiting fiber installation to their homes or businesses. And that number grows daily. And it’s not the only work we have been doing. In 2023, we also completed right-of-way clearing for all lines on our Porum and Muldrow Substations. This project resulted in the trimming and/ or clearing of 409 miles of rights-ofway. Crews are working to clear lines on the Stigler Substation in 2024. We also completed pole replacements and upgrades of 17% of our poles. The pole replacements removed many old or rotting poles and replaced them with stronger poles, helping us mitigate the loss of poles due to wind and wintery weather. As our system has endured major winds throughout the last year, we saw proof that these two projects have helped reduce outages significantly across our system. This equates to a safer system with fewer outages and improved reliability. As we close out 2023 and embark on a new year, we take a moment to pause and reflect. Pele, a Brazilian soccer player, said, “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” Here at CHEC, this sums up our team. We will continue to work hard, persevere, prioritize safety, and become better educated to understand our evolving industry. We will continue doing what we love: serving you, our members. May you have a happy and blessed 2024!
WATTS INSIDE Youth Tour contest open for high school juniors!
Member satisfaction survey coming your way
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Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc. Headquarters Office PO Box 539 • 1002 E. Main Stigler, OK 74462 • 800-328-2368 Branch Office PO Box 587 • 1800 KOA/Power Drive Sallisaw, OK 74955 • 918-775-2211 Pay-by-Phone: 1-888-678-1937 www.cooksonhills.com Alternate Emergency Only: 918-552-0016
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Joe Ogle, President Rocky Woods, Sr., Vice President Ronnie Pevehouse, Sec/Treasurer Dan Callahan, Trustee John Dillard, Trustee Dart Drummonds, Trustee Mike Rose, Trustee
District 6 District 1 District 7 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5
STAFF Juli Orme, General Manager Mark Blaylock, Director of Operations — Stigler Marty Huff, Director of Operations — Sallisaw Ellen Mattison, Manager of Accounting Services Kristie Cash, Manager of Office Services Jeremy Stubblefield, Chief Technology Officer Brad Martin, Director of Member/Public Relations and Economic Development Dallin Shaw, Director of Engineering Kellan Lujan, Manager of Subsidiary Accounting
Russell V. Barber, General Counsel Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc. welcomes members to submit photos, and articles which will be subject to editing. Cookson Hills reserves the right to publish or modify any article. Companies and individuals featured in the Hot Watts newsletter do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or view of Cookson Hills. Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc. is an equal opportunity provider and employer. If you find your account number hidden in this issue of the Hot Watts, you’ll receive a $25 credit on your electric bill.
bit.ly/CHEConFB (case-sensitive)
2 | February 2024
Hey! High School Juniors! Do you want to win some cash, scholarship money, or a free trip to Washington, D.C., where you will get to visit some of our nation’s greatest sites? That’s where we come in! Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative is gearing up to begin awarding cash prizes, scholarships, and sending four students to our nation’s capital. Each year, Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative participates in the Oklahoma Youth Tour program. This is a scholarship opportunity for high-school juniors in our area. Students can win cash prizes, scholarship money, and even an allexpense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. Below are a few highlights about the program. • Students must be juniors at a school or be homeschooled within the Cookson Hills Electric service territory. • Students will write an essay about this year’s topic: The pros and cons of electric vehicles. • All students who submit an essay to his/her teacher will automatically be entered to win $100. • The essays must be submitted to CHEC by a teacher or school representative. • Teachers must submit the essays to CHEC by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 15th. • Teachers and/or school representatives can submit up to four essays to CHEC for judging. • CHEC will select the Top 10 student essays and invite 10 students to an interview. • All Top 10 finalists will win scholarship money. • Students who finish in the top four will be awarded scholarship money and a free trip to D.C. in June. For official guidelines and more information, including how students and teachers can win cash simply for participating, check us out at https:// www.cooksonhills.com/youth-tour or call us at 800-328-2368. Good luck!
This could be your junior! Learn more at www.cooksonhills.com/youth-tour
Your feedback is needed! During the months of January and February 2024 Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative will be sponsoring a survey that is conducted every two years to measure the quality of service provided to you and to ensure reliable service in the future. This survey will ask several questions about your satisfaction with the cooperative and your energy usage. Your opinion is very important to us, and we want to ensure that all members are represented in our results. If you receive an email invitation to participate, we encourage you to take this opportunity to provide your feedback. You may be sent an email invitation to participate in the survey online anytime between now and February 28, 2024. The email will come from Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative (surveys@cooperativesurvey.com) with the subject: Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative Wants to Know What You Think. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at 800328-2368. We appreciate your help! Sincerely, Brad Martin Director of Member Relations Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc.
CHEC scholarship applications available for high school seniors! Applications due by March 8. Visit www.cooksonhills. com!
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All CHEC members now have access to affordable, high-speed internet services!
Visit www.CooksonHillsConnect.com or call 1-800-328-2368 to get started!