Congratulations to our winners of the 2009 Cherokee Horn Scholarship Contest. Three finalists have been awarded the $1000 scholarship.
Special congratulations to Nick Marshalek a junior from L.I.S.D. who won our essay contest. Awards will be presented soon.
Our three finalists, and recipients of $1000 award toward education are:
Nick Marshalek (Essay winner)
William Dean
Morris & Teresa Koeneke
11 Runners Up have been notified and will receive a $50 gift card.
Cherokee Horn likes to take an active role in the communities in which it works. Back in December this included a pledge to donate $25 to Christian Community Action for every mineral lease signed during one weekend in mid-December. As a result, this long-standing Lewisville, TX charity received a check $2,500.
Jeff Watts, Founder and President of Cherokee Horn, sets the tone for charitable giving at the company. Both he and his cousin, vice-president Ryan Watts believe in giving as a company and as individuals.
Many organizations, schools, sports teams and families around the community have been touched by Cherokee Horn. In the photo above, the Ansell family was blessed with wrapped gifts from Cherokee Horn, after Lisa’s vehicle (with Christmas gifts in it) was stolen on December 23. “We were surprised and overwhelmed by Cherokee Horn’s generosity,” the exuberant single mother remarked. “The very next day [Cherokee Horn] was here to give us the Christmas I thought we couldn’t have.”
Beyond what they do as a company, Cherokee Horn’s leasing staff will also assist residents who want to donate their bonus money to charity. Although we live in an area that is not as hard hit economically as other parts of the country, there are always organizations here and individual families that need support from the community and its residents.
There are many costs to doing business; including communications and advertising. In 2008, we were getting hundreds of requests from residents who wanted to show their support for Cherokee Horn with a yard sign that promotes a favorable opinion about natural gas. We designed and built three versions of yard signs so residents can express the message that best fits their support philosophy.
We justify the fees paid to residents in lieu of media buying on billboards or TV commercials. As residents choose to express their opinion, we think it is reasonable to compensate them for displaying a positive message. Some of our opponents, who haven't yet requested a sign, think this money should go to a charity instead.
We have already made this available to those who request a sign. The signs are completely optional, but if a resident chooses to display a yard sign and wants to see the funds used for a cause instead, we will donate the amount to a charity on their behalf.
More importantly, when residents are uniting through their support, it shows commitment and appreciation for the clean energy effort we are making...that is, the process of getting the natural gas out of the ground and bringing it to market.
