TRI-COUNTY, TCC RAISE $20,000 FOR WOUNDED VETERANS PROGRAMS

WELLSBORO, Pa. (Oct. 1, 2020) — Tri-County REC and Tri-Co Connections teamed up to host a charity golf outing in September that raised $20,000 for two Potter County organizations dedicated to providing outdoor experiences to disabled military veterans.

At the conclusion of the inaugural Tri-County REC & Tri-Co Connections Charity Golf Tournament, held Monday, Sept. 21, at Tyoga Country Club in Wellsboro, Tri-County President & CEO Craig Eccher, and Bill Gerski, senior vice president of business development for Tri-Co Connections, presented checks of $10,000 each to LEEK Hunting and Mountain Preserve, and Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing/God’s Country Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

“We are pleased that so many of our vendors, business associates and electric cooperatives from across the state joined us for a day of fun and networking on the golf course while also raising a substantial amount of funds for some truly great local organizations,” Eccher said. “As a cooperative, one of our core principles is ‘concern for community,’ and these donations allow us to honor the wounded warriors who have sacrificed so much in their service to our country.”

In addition to raising funds for two worthy causes, the event was organized as a means of showing appreciation and providing networking opportunities to the many vendors and other partners who have helped the cooperative get the Tri-Co Connections fiber broadband project off to a great start, according to Gerski.

Twenty-four teams competed in the four-person scramble tournament, which was highlighted by the participation of special guest Blair Thomas, a 1989 Heisman Trophy finalist running back for Penn State University who went on to play for 6 years in the National Football League.

Taking first place in the tournament was the team of Lagrew Printing Co. of Coudersport with a 16-under-par score of 55. The team of First Citizens Community Bank, Mansfield, finished second at 14 under par.

LEEK Hunting and Mountain Preserve, located in Oswayo, offers disabled veterans opportunities to participate in a variety of hunting, fishing and shooting sports activities in an accessible and supportive environment during events hosted at the 278-acre preserve throughout the year.

The God’s Country Chapter of Trout Unlimited coordinates a three-day summer event for wounded veterans through the Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing program. Held annually since 2008 at Big Moore’s Run Fish and Game Preserve near Austin, the Project Healing Waters program aims to assist in the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active-duty military personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings.

A member-owned, non-profit utility with headquarters in Mansfield, Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative provides electricity to nearly 20,000 meters in Bradford, Tioga, Potter, Lycoming, McKean, Cameron and Clinton counties. Tri-Co Connections, a subsidiary of Tri-County REC, is constructing a fiber-to-the-home high-speed internet subsidiary across the electric cooperative’s 5,000-square-mile service territory in north-central Pennsylvania.