NORTH BALTIMORE, Ohio – A $10,000 check was awarded each to Blanchard Valley Center and Wood Lane through a joint donation program involving Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative, Prism Propane and CoBank on Thursday morning.

“One guiding principle of any cooperative is ‘concern for community,’” said Hancock-Wood President & CEO George Walton. “We appreciate CoBank’s generous outreach in helping us continue to uphold that principle. This is truly win-win all the way around.”

The gifts were awarded to Blanchard Valley Center and Wood Lane in a brief ceremony this morning. The grants will benefit hundreds of students in Hancock-Wood’s service territory by continuing to offer quality educational, recreational and social service programs to area families, in particular those with developmental disabilities.

The party responsible for helping to make this happen is CoBank, a national cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural electric power, water and communications providers in all 50 states.

Introduced this year, CoBank’s Sharing Success Program has extended $3 million nationally to hundreds of cooperatives across the U.S, matching dollar-for-dollar donations to local charitable and non-profit groups.

The gifts from Hancock-Wood and Prism Propane were one of the largest in the history of either company.

“We hope these monetary gifts will only enhance the enjoyment the holidays bring,” Walton said. “We believe in and support the people in our communities, and those who live on our lines.”

Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, nonprofit electric utility serving 12,900 members in 10 northwest Ohio counties, including Kelleys Island on Lake Erie, all spanning across 1,800 miles of line. Counties include: Allen, Erie, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Wood and Wyandot. Founded in 1938, it also provides extra services to its members to help them enjoy the benefits of membership in a cooperative, including Prism Propane. More information is available at www.hwe.coop.


(L-R): Ed Crawford, Hancock-Wood Board Chairman; Connie Ament, Blanchard Valley Center Superintendent; Marcia Jones, Hancock-Wood CFO; George Walton, Hancock-Wood President &CEO; Melanie Stretchbery, Wood Lane Superintendent; Clarence Mahovlich, CoBank Vice President; Donna Beam, Wood Lane Director of Operations; Dave Corbin, Prism Solutions Board Chairman.