Blackfoot Telephone, Missoula Electric and Energy Partners Bring Technology to Rural Schools

Three local Missoula companies are working together to help bring current technology to rural classrooms. Electronic Equipment in Education (EEE) Program is a joint venture between Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative (Blackfoot) http://www.blackfoot.com , Missoula Electric Cooperative http://www.missoulaelectric.com/ (MEC), and Energy Partners (EP). EEE allows these companies to return a small portion of Cooperative Member investments for the betterment of their service communities, while providing local schools with much needed technology equipment to enhance the educational environment.

Since its inception in 1989, the EEE Program has provided over $388,000 worth of electronic equipment to schools throughout Western Montana that are within the combined service territories of Blackfoot, MEC and EP. Equipment ranges from color printers and digital projectors, to e-reader tablets and Nintendo Wiis.

On Thursday, February 23, 2012, Blackfoot, MEC and EP hosted the 23rd Annual EEE Luncheon and presented $28,000 worth of technology equipment to 76 Western Montana schools. The luncheon was held at the Hilton Garden Inn, and students and teachers were present to accept the awards on behalf of their schools.

"EEE has allowed our school to incorporate technology into our classroom that is essential for teaching. We are so grateful to have such support continue in these tough economic times," said Christine Hulla, Principal at Florence-Carlton Elementary School. Ms. Hulla’s school received five wireless keyboards from EEE this year, which will be used with interactive white boards and allow teachers the flexibility to interact with students.

EEE 2012 Recipient Schools and Their Awards

1. Alberton Elementary School – Apple iPad2

2. Alberton Jr. High – Vizio Sound Bar & $150 towards Epson Projector

3. Alberton High School – $400 towards Epson Projector

4. Arlee Elementary School – HP Color Printer

5. Avon Elementary – 3 Smart Notebook Math Tools

6. Bonner Elementary – $275 towards an Apple iPad2

7. Bonner Middle School – Apple iPad2

8. Charlo Elementary – Nintendo Wii & Wii Fit

9. Charlo Middle School – Nook Tablet & $200 towards printer

10. Charlo High School – Nook Tablet

11. Clinton Elementary – Apple iPad2

12. Clinton Middle School – Apple iPad2

13. Quentin Brown Elementary/Corvallis – $300 towards Smart Document Camera

14. Corvallis Middle School – $300 towards CPS Pulse System

15. DeSmet Elementary – Kindle Fire & Kindle Keyboard

16. DeSmet Middle School – Kindle Fire & Kindle Keyboard

17. Dixon School – Nikon Digital Camera & Kindle Tablet

18. Drummond Elementary – Nintendo Wii & Wii Fit

19. Drummond High School – Apple iPad2

20. Elliston Elementary – HP Laptop Pavilion

21. Florence-Carlton Elementary – 5 Wireless Keyboard/Mouse Sets

22. Florence-Carlton Middle School – 3 Wireless Keyboard/Mouse Sets

23. Florence-Carlton High School – 3 Kindle Tablets

24. Frenchtown Elementary – MP3 Player & $150 towards Audio books

25. Frenchtown Intermediate School – Document Camera

26. Frenchtown Junior High – Document Camera

27. Frenchtown High School – Epson Color Scanner

28. Gold Creek Elementary School – $275 towards Active Keyboard

29. Hall Elementary – Apple iPad2

30. Grantsdale Elementary/Hamilton – 8 Speaker Systems

31. Washington Primary/Hamilton – PA System

32. Daly Elementary/Hamilton – Apple iPod Touch & OtterBox Case

33. Hamilton Middle School – Kindle Fire Tablet

34. Hamilton High School – $200 towards Graphing Calculators

35. Hellgate Elementary – Flip Camcorder

36. Hellgate Intermediate School – 30 Headphones

37. Hellgate Middle School – 2 Kindle Tablets

38. Helmville Elementary – 3 iPad OtterBox Cases

39. Hot Springs Elementary – Wireless Printer

40. Noxon Elementary School – Kindle Fire Tablet

41. Noxon Jr. High – Kindle Fire Tablet

42. Noxon High School – Kindle Fire Tablet

43. Ovando Elementary School -$500 towards Microsoft Office Software

44. Paradise Grade School -43" Flat Screen TV

45. Philipsburg Elementary School -$270 towards a Smart Board

46. Granite High School/Philipsburg – $219 towards Epson Printer

47. Plains Elementary – Kindle Fire Tablet

48. Plains Middle School – Ncomputing Kit

49. Plains High School – 2 Flip Camcorders

50. Polson Cherry Valley Elementary – Apple iPad2

51. Polson Linderman Elementary – 2 Flip Camcorders

52. Valley View Elementary/Polson – HP Laserjet Printer

53. Polson High School – HP Laserjet Printer

54. Potomac Elementary – $275 towards Casio Digital Camera

55. Potomac Middle School – $275 towards Projector Screen

56. Pablo Elementary/Ronan – $299 towards Projector Lamp

57. K William Harvey Elementary/Ronan – 2 Flip Video Camcorders

58. Ronan Middle School – 3 Kensington Pro Lasers

59. Ronan High School – Computerized CO2 Gas Sensor

60. St. Regis Elementary – Kindle Fire Tablet

61. St. Regis Middle School – Kindle Fire Tablet

62. St. Regis High School – Linksys Wireless Router

63. Seeley Lake Elementary – 3 Kindle Tablets

64. Seeley-Swan High School – 37 8GB Flash drives

65. Lone Rock Elementary/Stevensville – Canon Digital Camera

66. Lone Rock Middle School/Stevensville – Canon Digital Camera

67. Salmon Prairie School/Swan Lake – Canon Digital Camera

68. Stevensville Jr. High School – 3 Flip Camcorders

69. Superior High School – 2 Create Graphics Tablets

70. Swan Valley School/Condon – HP Notebook PC

71. Thompson Falls Elementary – Dell Printer

72. Thompson Falls Jr. High – Toshiba DVD Recorder/VCR

73. Thompson Falls High School – Dell Printer

74. Trout Creek Elementary – Aspire Laptop

75. Trout Creek Jr. High – Aspire Laptop

76. Woodman Elementary/Lolo – Olympus Digital Camera

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About Blackfoot Telecommunications Group
Named after the Blackfoot River running through much of the territory it serves, the Blackfoot Telecommunications Group (Blackfoot) was originally established in 1954 as Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative. Blackfoot offers state-of-the-art telecommunications, Internet and data solutions to customers in Missoula and throughout Montana and Idaho. Headquartered in Missoula, Montana, Blackfoot employs 140 Montanans. Blackfoot can be reached at 541-5000 or online at http://www.blackfoot.com.