Prism Propane partners with CoBank to donate $10,000 to aid Hancock County Fairgrounds Capital Campaign

On December 9, Prism Propane Services of Ohio, LLC, staff and board members, together with CoBank – a cooperative bank serving industries across rural America headquartered in Denver, Colorado – presented a total of $10,000 in donations to the Hancock County Fairgrounds Capital Campaign fund. The checks from both organizations were presented to Thomas Warren, president of the fairgrounds’ board of directors.

Left to right are Aaron Smith, Hancock County fair board member; Marcia Stahl, HWE CFO; Clarence Mahovlich, CoBank VP; Thomas Warren, Hancock County Fair Board president; James Demler, Prism Propane chairman; Dave Corbin, HWE board trustee, and George Walton, Prism Propane COO.

Prism Propane is a for-profit affiliate of the non-profit Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative. Prism COO George Walton said, “We are pleased to partner with CoBank in offering a chance to help breathe new life into this valuable community asset. The fairgrounds is the heart of Findlay and Hancock County and tens of thousands come through its gates each year to celebrate the quality of life here.”

CoBank Vice President Clarence Mahovlich flew in from his Alabama office to present the check. “This is an incredible opportunity for us to highlight how the cooperative effort benefits communities across our nation. We feel privileged to be a part of this community revitalization project.”

These funds will be used toward a new facility at the fairgrounds to be named later. The funding is a 50-percent Prism grant combined with a 50 percent CoBank matching-fund Sharing Success Grant. As part of this partnership, Prism donated $5,000 to Wood Lane Schools in Wood County in 2012, and in cooperation with Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative and CoBank donated a total of $20,000 in 2013, to The Boy Scouts of America’s Camp Berry located in Findlay.

Prism Propane offers a wide variety of services including its recent introduction of Propane Autogas for vehicle fleet fueling. In October, Prism Propane held a grand opening ceremony to introduce its Autogas Propane fueling station as a “greener” fueling option in northwest Ohio. Speakers for the event included: U.S. Congressman Bob Latta, State Senators Randy Gardner and Cliff Hite, county commissioners, local elected officials and area school superintendents.

Van Buren, Elmwood and Wood Lane Schools are just a few of the area school systems which purchase Propane Autogas or have begun to look into the fuel as an alternative to diesel. Propane gas costs less and cuts down on vehicle maintenance – a savings for the school district and its taxpayers.

Prism Propane was formed in 1998 as a for-profit company and affiliate of the HWE non-profit organization to offer economically priced propane gas services to customers in Allen, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Wyandot and Wood counties. For more information about Prism Propane, visit www.prismpropane.com or call 877-887-7476.

Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative, established April 20, 1938, serves 13,000 accounts in portions of Hancock, Wood, Allen, Erie, Hardin, Henry, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca and Wyandot counties. For more information about Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative, visit www.hwe.coop or call 800-445-4840.

CoBank is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks and retail lending associations chartered to support the borrowing needs of U.S. agriculture and the nation’s rural economy.