The Southern Pioneer Electric Helping Us Give to Society (H.U.G.S.) program awarded on July 14 a $6,000 grant to the Liberal High School Athletics and Activities Program to purchase new camera equipment.

The funding will be used to purchase a new camera, lens, lighting setup, and other accessories. The grant is expected to help improve the quality of photos, videos, and social media content, as well as the overall exposure of the students and their activities and achievements.

“Our current equipment is outdated and personally owned,” said Chad Friess, Athletic and Activities Director for Liberal High School. “Purchasing department-owned equipment will ensure consistent, high-quality coverage for students now and in the future.”

Friess said the new equipment will support all students at Liberal High School who participate in athletics, fine arts, academic activities, and other school programs.

“The H.U.G.S. program exists to support our communities and help them grow,” said Ruby Terrazas, H.U.G.S. team member. “We look forward to seeing what the students at Liberal High School produce with this new equipment.

To be considered for a H.U.G.S. grant, an organization must demonstrate need in one of the focus areas listed within the program’s guidelines. Focus areas include: human needs, education, culture and art, civic and environment. Organizations interested in applying for H.U.G.S. grants must meet the outlined criteria found in the program’s guidelines. The program’s guidelines and application can be found on Southern Pioneer Electric’s website (www.southerpioneer.net).

Members of Southern Pioneer Electric’s Helping Us Give to Society (HUGS) team presented $6,000 to Crossroads Center Inc. to assist with a new hay feeder and replacement fence panels. Grants are provided by both the Southern Pioneer Electric HUGS program and matching funds from CoBank’s Sharing Success program.

Serving the region for over 27 years, the center provides therapeutic horseback riding for Southwest Kansans. The center will use these upgrades as part of restoration efforts to recover from damage caused by fires in February this year.

“We want our animals and patrons to have a safe space to enjoy our services,” said Rena Cross, Executive Director for Crossroads. “Earlier this year, we had a fire in one of our pastures — damaging a hay feeder and fence panels. It is about 25-30 new panels that need to be replaced, along with a three-horse feeder. We’ve been able to continue operations for our spring season, but look forward to having our facilities back to where we were prior to the fire.”

The center shares information about its services and schedule on its website at https://crossroadsctr.wixsite.com/. Services are offered to youth and adult riders from April to November.

“We appreciate Crossroads commitment of service to our communities,” said Ruby Terrazas, HUGS representative. “Their mission is to enhance the lives of individuals of all backgrounds through adaptive horseback riding.”

On July 7, Members of the Southern Pioneer Electric HUGS team awarded the Mineola Senior Center a $2,552 grant to help update a heating unit on its commercial dishwasher. The unit is required to ensure water temperatures are hot enough to safely sanitize and clean the dishes and utensils the center uses to serve its patrons. The center hopes to implement the updates immediately to continue service to Minneola residents.

“This unit quit working; it’s a big expense. Without replacing it, we would jeopardize maintaining our state license,” said Galen Rankin, Board Treasurer for the center. “Our dishwasher requires an attached auxiliary water heating unit to ensure that water temperatures are adequate for sanitizing and cleaning dishes and utensils. With this malfunctioning part of the appliance, our staff has to take extra steps to ensure that everything is cleaned adequately. This upgrade will be a tremendous help to our staff.”

The center provides meals five days a week, offering reduced pricing to those ages 55 and older and a slightly higher charge for others. It is an average of 15 to 25 meals per day in the center and by delivery. By request, the center will also provide a weekend meal to patrons.

“Reliable food safety steps are paramount for the health of our patrons,” said Rankin. “We want citizens to enjoy meeting and gathering at the center and want to be sure we’re able to continue to serve them safely and to state standards.”

“We’re excited to award this grant to the center for all that they do for their community,” said Ruby Terrazas, HUGS representative with Southern Pioneer. “Each year, we enjoy hosting a ‘buyout’ dinner at the center and appreciate the service offered by its employees. It’s a great opportunity for us to meet with these community members, and we’re excited to help ensure that moving forward.”