Touchstone Energy Launches Together We Save
10.07.2009 -Touchstone Energy’s® newest energy efficiency advertising campaign launched late August to cooperatives across the country.

“Together We Save” features more than a dozen energy efficiency Web applications, a Web TV portal, new television and radio advertisements, as well as plenty of opportunities for members to share stories and read how other consumers are saving money.

This integrated campaign is built on the concept that small changes in consumer behavior can not only better help co-ops deliver efficient, reliable and affordable energy, but also the potential economic benefit will encourage consumers to take control of their energy usage.

Sam Houston Electric Cooperative will partner the campaign’s interactive Web site, www.togetherwesave.com, with its own Do Watts Right campaign, launched in 2006.

Accommodating increased demand for electricity is one of Sam Houston EC’s biggest challenges. This is just one way we are working to conserve energy and prepare for the electricity needs of future generations.

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Watch for Election Ballots

10.05.2009 -Look for your official Sam Houston Electric Cooperative election ballot in the mail mid-October. Be sure to vote and take part in the election of your Board of Directors. Remember, your vote is important.

Also, mark your calendar for the Sam Houston EC Annual Meeting of Members, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe Multipurpose Facility, located at 571 State Park Road 56, off Hwy 190 about halfway between Livingston and Woodville.

For more information, contact the Co-op at 1-800-458-0381 or click here.

At Sam Houston EC, we want our members to keep track of their energy usage, save money and learn ways to conserve energy. DoWattsRight.net is our way of continuing to look out for our members, by offering tips for conserving electricity and improving energy efficiency in their homes.

Sam Houston EC members will learn how to conduct their own home energy audit, debunk common energy myths and learn how even the smallest changes can make a big difference to their energy bill. What’s more, the Web site also offers a link to the Touchstone Energy® Kids Zone, a cool place where kids can learn about electricity, energy savings and electrical safety. Even though we’re in the business of selling electricity, it takes each of us doing our part.

Click here to visit DoWattsRight.net.

TCP Sponsors Teen Video Competition
05.20.2009 - Texas Co-op Power magazine is sponsoring a video contest for Texas electric cooperative high school students and their schools to work together in educating members on ways to save electricity.

Total prize money for the contest is $4,000 and seven winners will be announced on October 30. The grand-prize winner will receive $1,500 and be featured in Texas Co-op Power magazine. If the grand-prize winner has a sponsoring school, the school will receive $1,000.

Videos can be uploaded for the contest between September 1 and October 15.

Click here for contest guidelines. Complete rules and application and release forms will be posted on the Texas Co-op Power website (www.texascooppower.com) by June 1.

Sam Houston EC Wins Chesnutt Award

05.19.2009 - Sam Houston Electric Cooperative received the Edgar F. Chesnutt Award for Best
Total Communication Program, the highest honor bestowed through the Spotlight on Excellence Awards program. Sam Houston EC was recognized during Connect 2009, a national communication, marketing and member services conference convened by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives.

| Click here to read full article

[PHOTO] Karen Combs (center) presents the 2009 Edgar F. Chesnutt Award to Sam Houston Electric Cooperative staff, from left: Kyle J. Kuntz, CEO; Mary Kate Scott, communications specialist; Keith Stapleton, chief communications officer; and R.J. Enard, engineer.

Sam Houston EC Celebrates 70 Years of Service in East Texas

04.15.2009 - The people who work at Sam Houston Electric Cooperative call the communities they serve home, too. We live here. Our members are our friends and neighbors. It’s been that way since 1939.

In May 2009, Sam Houston EC celebrates 70 years of service in East Texas.

A lot has changed since our younger years, but the service we provide and the values on which the Co-op was founded remain the same. Today and tomorrow, Sam Houston Electric Cooperative is here for you.

Whether seven years old or 70, some things never change.

Hindsman Awarded Texas Electric Cooperatives' "Unsung Hero"

04.09.2009 - Ronnie Hindsman, Sam Houston Electric Cooperative Training and Safety Inspector, received the “Unsung Hero” award from Texas Electric Cooperatives in March for his many years as an instructor and his contributions to the success of Loss Control line technician schools.

Hindsman started working in the Cooperative's warehouse when he was in high school and started in the line department in June 1983.

Fassler Deployed to Year-long Tour in Iraq

04.01.2009 - The United States Army Reserve has called upon one of Sam Houston Electric Cooperative’s employees.

Michael Fassler, Sam Houston EC line technician of Coldspring, will be deployed for a year-long tour in Iraq, where his coworker Yancy Williams, of Livingston, is currently serving in the U.S. Army Reserve as well.

Joining the Sam Houston EC family just prior to Hurricane Rita in 2005, Fassler enlisted in the Army Reserve nearly a year ago. Fassler says it was something he has always wanted to do and took the opportunity while he could.

“We appreciate Michael’s commitment to his job and country,” said Kyle Kuntz, Sam Houston EC CEO.

02.20.2009 - Going the extra mile to help others in the community is not uncommon among co-op employees. In fact, Touchstone Energy® honors those individuals through the Power & Hope Employee Recognition Program. Sam Houston Electric Cooperative proudly nominated Craig Jones for this year’s award.

Jones lives a life of service. A member of the Livingston Volunteer Fire Department, he and the other members of the department were able to save a home from fire as Hurricane Ike made landfall in September, despite the obstacles of Category 2 hurricane winds, fallen trees and pounding rains.

A Co-op Technology Specialist, Jones was appointed “mayor” of the Woodville tent city after the storm. He not only was a liaison between the Co-op and the staging area, but he was also there to ensure the needs of hundreds of others were taken care of. This included distributing water and ice, seeing medical needs were addressed, parking and fueling hundreds of bucket trucks, and even making sure the crews had enough to eat.

Aside from his commitment to the Livingston Volunteer Fire Department and his exemplary leadership after Hurricane Ike, Jones also donates much of his time to the youth baseball league in Livingston.

Sam Houston EC believes, like many of its employees, that Jones truly exemplifies the cooperative spirit and commitment to the communities we serve.

Visit Touchstone Energy's Power & Hope Web site.