Your Electric Co-op

Chief Executive Officer and General Manager

Robert E. Castillo, P.E.

Grants Office

200 E. High St.• P.O. Box 1087 Grants, NM 87020 505-285-6656 505-287-2234, fax

Gallup Office

2500 NM Highway 602 • P.O. Box 786 Gallup, NM 87305 505-863-3641 505-863-2175, fax

After Hours

877-775-5211

Office Hours

8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (M-F)

Satellite Payment Offices

Villa de Cubero, Zuni, Tribal Utility Dept.

Website

www.cdec.coop

Board of Trustees President

Keith Gottlieb, At-Large

Vice President

Claudio Romero, District 3

Secretary-Treasurer

Joe Hoskins, District 7

Lyle Adair

District 8

Mike Chambers

District 1

Wes Malcolm

District 2

Lloyd Ortega

District 4

Alfred Saavedra

District 5

Blanche Clawson

District 6

Trim the Turkey and Your Electric Bill, Too!

Aromas of roasted turkey, pumpkin pie, and red chile lingering in your kitchen can mean only one thing—Thanksgiving preparations are underway.

As you trim your turkey, why not trim your holiday electric bill, too.

Here are some energy-saving tips: • No need to preheat the oven. The turkey will cook for hours anyway. • Do not open the oven door to peek in too often because you will lose valuable heat. • Turn your electric oven and burners off near the end of the cooking process. Residual heat will finish cooking the meal. • Use pots and pans the same size as the stove’s burners for efficient cooking. • Remove at once all refrigerated items that are called for in your recipe, so you can save energy by opening the door less often.

CDEC is closed Nov. 26-27

In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, Continental Divide Electric Co-op will be closed Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27, 2020. We will reopen on Monday, November 30.

CDEC wishes you and your family a safe and happy holiday weekend!

2021 Youth Tour Canceled

The 2021 Government-in-Action Youth Tour has been canceled for New Mexico students amid continued concerns over the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

Each year, CDEC holds an essay contest and selects two high school juniors for an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C.

Both the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association and CDEC’s governing board decided not to participate in 2021, said Mac Juarez, CDEC’s manager of member services.

“This is typically the time of year when airline tickets and hotel rooms are booked for the Youth Tour ambassadors. But, it remains uncertain what kind of COVID-19 restrictions could be in place come June 2021, when the tour occurs. The governing boards did not want to make all the accommodations and then have to cancel the trip, which was the case this year,” Juarez said.

CDEC Awards $5,000 “Sharing Success” Grant to Zuni MainStreet

Continental Divide Electric Co-op is pleased to announce Zuni Pueblo MainStreet as the recipient of the 2020 CDEC/CoBank “Sharing Success” grant.

Zuni MainStreet received two checks, totaling $5,000—$2,500 from the co-op and $2,500 from CoBank. The grant money will be used to purchase tools and equipment for artists of the pueblo’s ARTZ Co-op. ARTZ is an acronym for “Ancestral Rich Treasures of Zuni Cooperative.”

“Awarding the grant to the ARTZ Co-op is a direct infusion into the Zuni Pueblo’s livelihood and economic development,” said Mac Juarez, CDEC’s Member Services Manager. From left to right: CDEC District 6 Board Member Blanche Clawson, Zuni Pueblo

Art is the base of Zuni’s economy with 47 percent MainStreet Executive Director Mario Hooee, MainStreet Board Member Tammy of businesses and over 80 percent of households Parker, ARTZ Co-op Site Coordinator Elroy Natachu Jr. and ARTZ Co-op Secretary directly involved in the sale and/or production of Kandis Quam. Native American art, according to Mario Hooee, the Zuni MainStreet executive director who authored the Sharing Success grant application.

“Most artists do not have the resources to purchase the larger and more expensive tools and equipment. Our proposal is to purchase the equipment and make it accessible for artists’ use,” Hooee said in the application.

Initially, the equipment will be made available for use inside the ARTZ Co-op. Eventually, the equipment will be available at incubator space that is part of the planned Zuni Community Center development.

CDEC District 6 Board Member Blanche Clawson, of Ramah, presented Zuni MainStreet and the ARTZ Co-op the $5,000 grant award in October.

The annual grant opportunity was made possible by CDEC’s governing board of directors, in partnership with CoBank, a cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America.

In 2012, CoBank created Sharing Success, an annual fund, which matches charitable contributions made by co-ops across the country.

CDEC received applications from organizations located throughout the co-op’s service territory. The window for 2020 grant applications was April through July.

A committee of CDEC employees reviewed the Sharing Success grant applications and ranked them by strength and lasting impact the proposed projects could have. Then, the applications and recommendations were reviewed by co-op management and presented to CDEC’s governing board, which approved the recipient recommended by the committee.

In general, CDEC account holders that are 501(c)(3) organizations are eligible to apply. Select organizations that are not designated a 501(c)(3) may also be eligible.

Applicants must demonstrate how their project would benefit their community in one or more of the following categories the co-op refers to as “The Four E’s” – Energy Efficiency and/or Renewable Energy; Education; Environment; and Economic Development. The Zuni MainStreet application qualified under the Economic Development category.