2021 winners selected in collaboration with four rural electric cooperative clients to showcase impact of high-speed internet in rural America

Conexon is proud to announce the winners of our 2021 Conexon Internet Grant program! Our pilot award program was organized in collaboration with four rural electric cooperative clients in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The program is one of our ways of giving back to the local communities we serve, in this case by awarding a year of free Gigabit-speed broadband service to four individuals who shared their stories of how their lives and businesses have been changed by the availability of high-speed internet.

Conexon partnered with electric cooperative fiber broadband subsidiary providers Pemiscot-Dunklin Fiber (Pemiscot-Dunklin Electric) and GoSemo (SEMO Electric) in Missouri, ecoLINK (East Central Oklahoma Electric) in Oklahoma, and WAVE Rural Connect (Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative) in Arkansas to pilot the 2021 grant program, with the goal of expanding the program in the future. Members from each electric cooperative had the opportunity to apply by submitting a short essay about how broadband internet access has made a difference in their life or their community. We were overwhelmed by the number of compelling and heartfelt stories you shared!

Selecting just one winner from each co-op was tough, but we are pleased to congratulate our national winners:

  • Congratulations to Conexon’s national winners:
  • Rick & Renee Aufdenberg – GoSemo
  • Melton R. Smith – WAVE Rural Connect
  • Jason W. Bishop – Pemiscot-Dunklin Fiber
  • Amanda McLemore – ecoLINK

In addition to the national Conexon awards, the individual cooperatives also offered additional grants.

  • Congratulations to the co-op winners:
  • Kimberly K. Sahlfeld-Bunger – GoSemo
  • Kim Paul – GoSemo
  • Jennifer Hardcastle – WAVE Rural Connect
  • Doug R. Ross – WAVE Rural Connect
  • Felicia Dogan – Pemiscot-Dunklin Fiber
  • D’Anne Hanson – ecoLINK

The 2021 Conexon Internet Grant pilot collaboration captured stories with a focus on remote learning, education, career advancement, and other opportunities created by high-speed internet access. The selected stories will be showcased on social media channels in the coming weeks. Conexon anticipates expanding the Internet Grant Program in 2022 and beyond. Details of future programs can be found at conexoninternetgrant.com.

Conexon 2021 Internet Grant

About the Program

Conexon and participating co-ops are proud to launch Conexon’s 2021 Internet Grant, available to subscribers of fiber internet. This new program offers participating co-op subscribers a chance to win FREE Gigabit-speed internet for one year in return for sharing how high-speed internet access has changed your life through education, and new business opportunity. Simply submit your stories via the form below and your entries will be read by a panel of judges to determine the most compelling stories. We will be selecting two winners!

About Conexon

Conexon’s goal is for every home and business across rural America to have access to reliable, affordable, world-class high-speed internet delivered through fiber networks. In working with clients to close the Digital Divide, Conexon’s founding Partner Randy Klindt has many times shared the inspiration his team draws from the real stories they hear as rural Americans finally gain access to high-speed internet – students succeed, businesses launch and communities thrive. That sentiment has led to a desire to help share those stories through the Internet Grant program.