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Cheyenne Chamber Awards General ReinerMajor General Luke Reiner is the Adjutant General for Wyoming. As such,

he directs the Wyoming Military Department, located in Cheyenne. He is

responsible for formulating, developing and coordinating all policies, plans

and programs affecting the more than 3,000 Army and Air National Guard

members in Wyoming. He is also responsible for the Wyoming Veterans’

Affairs Commission and the Oregon Trail State Veterans’ Cemetery.

Before his appointment he served as the Chief of the Joint Staff at the

Wyoming National Guard Joint Force Headquarters. He was responsible

to oversee the planning, training and execution of all National Guard

Military Support to Civilian Authorities within Wyoming and to direct the

various multi-service agencies of the Wyoming National Guard.

General Reiner began his military career as an enlisted soldier in the

Nebraska Army National Guard in 1982. After receiving his commission

from the University of Nebraska’s Reserve Officer Training Corp program

in December of 1986, he transferred to the Wyoming Army National Guard

where he served in various field artillery positions as a traditional Guard

Soldier until his entry into the Active Guard and Reserve program in 1991.

His initial Active Guard and Reserve tour was as the property book officer

for 3rd Battalion, 49th Field Artillery Regiment. Upon assuming command

of the Wyoming National Guard, on April 1, 2011, Reiner became federally

recognized as a brigadier general and was brevetted to the rank of major

general. He attained the rank of major general in May 2013.

General Reiner served as commander, Camp New York, Kuwait,

during Operation Iraqi Freedom II. He most recently commanded the

Wyoming Army National Guard’s 115th Fires Brigade, during which time

he was instrumental in the unit’s successful transformation to a new

modular design. He also served as the chair of the National Guard Field

Artillerymen Advisory Committee.

EDUCATION:

2009 Advanced Joint Military Professional Education, Joint Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia

2005 U.S. Army War College, Master of Strategic Studies, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania

2001 Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

1999 Master of Public Administration, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming

1986 Bachelor of Arts, Business, Accounting, Concordia Teachers College, Seward, Nebraska

1986 Bachelor of Science, Secondary Education, Concordia Teachers College, Seward, Nebraska

2014 Kenan-Flagler Business School, Army Strategic Leadership Development Program, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

2015 CAPSTONE, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS:

Legion of Merit

Meritorious Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters)

National Defense Service Medal 2nd Award

Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global

War On Terrorism Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal

High West Energy Awards $11,000 in ScholarshipsWe are pleased to announce the recipients of our 2017 scholarships. We received 52 applications from across the service territory. Applicants were evaluated based on their application, academics, essay, applicant appraisal and school/community involvement. Please help us in extending our best wishes to:

Luke JohnsonTri-State G & T Scholarship$500Potter, NEUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln

Meghan MurphyHigh West Energy Scholarship$500Cheyenne, WYClemson University

Levi KastenHigh West Energy Scholarship$500Potter, NEUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln

Eric SonnieLineman Scholarship$1000Sidney, NEWestern Nebraska Community College-Alliance

Cassady MalmHigh West Energy Scholarship$1000Albin, WYChadron State College

Mallory IckesHigh West Energy Scholarship$1000Burns, WYUniversity of Wyoming

Drew EllisHigh West Energy Scholarship$1000Carpenter, WYUniversity of Wyoming

Dawson CooleyBasin Electric Scholarship$1000Cheyenne, WYUniversity of Wyoming

Jadyn GoldingHigh West Energy Scholarship$1000Pine Bluffs, WYLaramie County Community College

Katelynn LokenHigh West Energy Scholarship$1000Cheyenne, WYLaramie County Community College

Jared MarquardtHigh West Energy Scholarship$1000Cheyenne, WYUniversity of Wyoming

Austin AsayHigh West Energy Scholarship$500Burns, WYUniversity of Wyoming

Cortney LewisHigh West Energy Scholarship$500Potter, NEWestern Nebraska Community College

Samantha HansonTri-State G & T Scholarship$500Carpenter, WYUniversity of Wyoming

F E A T U R E D P E R S O N

Joy ManningEnergy Services Advisor

Joy Manning came to High West Energy with years of experience in the industry. She oversees the energy management side of High West and interacts with members daily. Joy recommends home energy-saving upgrades, conducts commercial and residential assessments, oversees the Watt-er Wise Water Heater Program and helps members with rebates.

Joy’s biggest professional accomplishment was attaining her Certified Energy Manager (CEM) certification through the Association of Energy Engineers. She joins one of the elite 14,500 people in the United States and 25 countries with this certification. She is proud to represent the few women in the industry, and is the first woman in Wyoming to earn her CEM. She also serves on the advisory committee for the Rocky Mountain Utility Efficiency Exchange and will serve as a co-chair at this year’s event.

Joy’s favorite part about her job is that “we have the most dedicated and hard-working staff, who are committed to making the lives of our members better. We are here to serve them and meet their needs through our family of companies.”

DIY Electrical SafetyOver the past few years, more homeowners have been inspired to tackle do-it-yourself projects than ever before. However, most of us don’t have the training or experience needed to safely perform electrical work, which increases the risk of injury and electrocution. Working with electricity requires thorough planning and extreme care—cutting corners can be a costly mistake.

High West Energy strongly recommends hiring a qualified, licensed electrician to perform electrical work in your home; however, if you decide to do it yourself, consider the following important safety tips:

• Make an effort to learn about your home electrical system so that you can safely navigate and maintain it.

• Never attempt a project that is beyond your skill level. Knowing when to call a professional may help prevent electrical fires, injuries, and fatalities.

• Always turn off the power to the circuit that you plan to work on by switching off the circuit breaker in the main service panel, and unplug appliances before working on it.

• Test the wires before you touch them to make sure that the power has been turned off.

• Never touch plumbing or gas pipes when performing a do-it-yourself electrical project.

For more tips on treating electricity with care in the home and workplace, visit www.esfi.org. Source: Electrical Safety Foundation International

In a letter to the membership a few weeks ago, I mentioned High West Energy is exploring the possibility offering high-speed internet services to our members and communities.

For those of you unable to attend our district meetings, I want to take the opportunity to share a little bit about what we are considering.

If we proceed (which is an if), the service

will offer subscribers in southeast Wyoming, western Nebraska and possibly northern Colorado access to speeds of up to one gigabit per second download and upload, with no data limits or restrictions. Premium television and telephone services will also be available.

Additionally, we will connect all our electric line devices (reclosers, breakers, switches) over time for monitoring and control purposes. Investing in communications systems is not foreign to us, as we currently own and operate a microwave backhaul network and an RF network between substations, meters and our offices.

If it is decided to move forward, the entire build-out is expected to take several years, with construction starting later this year. We have an obligation to protect the financial and operational integrity of the cooperative for our members. Using a phased approach will allow us to minimize our risk by only building each phase once we have met specific take-rates. We will build out to the areas with the most interest.

There are approximately 900 electric

cooperatives in the U.S., of which over 100 offer satellite or wireless internet service and another 40 or so who are offering high-speed Internet over fiber optic lines. There are another 40-50 who are in the investigative stage just like High West Energy.

Subscriber take rate is critical to meeting revenue projections in our financial model. Take rate is also one of the cooperative’s largest unknown variables when starting the project. We have assumed take-rates at levels below what other cooperatives laying fiber are experiencing.

If you are interested in learning more about what we are exploring, please go to hwebroadband.com. Your Board of Directors will be weighing the pros and cons and make a decision in a month or so.

Thanks and best wishes.

M A N A G E R ’ S M E S S A G E :

HIGH WEST ENERGY, INC. • PO BOX 519 • PINE BLUFFS, WY 82082-0519 • LARAMIE COUNTY (307) 245-3261 • TOLL FREE (888) 834-1657 OUTAGE CALLS 24 HOURS A DAYOFFICE HOURS • MONDAY – FRIDAY • 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM

CHEYENNE SERVICE CENTER. • 3302 I-80 SERVICE ROAD • CHEYENNE, WY 82009 • OPEN MONDAY-FRIDAY 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM

District 11 – Michael Lerwick | (307) 630-1277

District 12 – Gary Smith | (307) 649-2375

District 13 – Ed Prosser | (307) 632-6068

District 14 – Jerry Burnett | (970) 895-3386

District 15 – Dan Acheson | (308) 235-2300

District 16 – Jamie Fowler | (307) 214-9191

District 17 – Kevin Thomas | (308) 879-4396

B OA R D O F D I R EC T O R S

Board meetings are typically held on the fourth Monday of each month.

THIS INSTITUTION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER AND EMPLOYER.

L E A D E R S H I P T E A MBrian Heithoff, CEO/General Manager Jeff Bruckner, Operations Manager

Dave Crouse, Chief Information Officer

Lindsay Forepaugh, Chief Financial Officer

Konnie Keehnen, Member Services Manager

Curtis Lund, Marketing Manager

Carol Macy, High West Wiring Manager

Marv Powell, WAFB Operations Manager

Lloyd Sisson, Engineering Manager

Ken Haas, Interim Operations Manager

Brian Heithoff, CEO/General Manager

HIGH SPEED BROADBAND ON THE HORIZON