Letcher — Central Electric Cooperative recently presented Town and Kountry Kid Blue Group 4-H Club with a $1,000 Operation Round-Up® grant. The funds helped pay for a commercial-grade flagpole in Letcher. 

Club Leader Janet Maeschen was instrumental in securing the grant. She said, “We really appreciate the funds. The new flagpole is a great addition to Letcher’s Main Street.”

Maeschen explained that one of the club’s goals is to promote community pride, and the new flagpole reflects that effort.

Operation Round-Up is a voluntary program in which Central Electric Cooperative members round their monthly statement up to the next whole dollar, and the extra cents support area projects. Many cooperative employees also contribute to the fund through payroll. Members and employees have invested nearly $160,000 in local community projects through Operation Round-Up since its inception in 2016.

Grants are awarded twice each year by a board of trustees, which consists of residents in Central Electric’s service area. Carla Amick of Letcher has represented Sanborn County on the board of trustees since 2016. She attended the check presentation and thanked the kids for their hard work on the project. 

Todd VanWalleghen of Letcher and Merl Bechen of Mitchell serve on Central Electric’s board of directors. They also attended the check presentation to show their support for the club’s efforts. 

Grant applications are once again being accepted through Nov. 1. For more information about the Operation Round-Up program, please contact Central Electric Cooperative at 1-800-477-2892 or visit www.centralec.coop/operation-round-up.

…See a picture in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!