The regularly scheduled SWODA Board of Trustees meeting will be held, February 14th, at 2:00pm. The agenda may be downloaded on the Board of Trustees page.

Congressman Frank Lucas is pleased to announce upcoming town hall meetings to be held in Caddo, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Kiowa and Washita counties February 22-23. All residents of these locations are invited to attend a meeting and express their opinions. Congressman Lucas will be discussing current events in Washington, taking questions about issues important to constituents of the Third Congressional District, and asking for opinions and input on legislation currently before Congress.



Wednesday, February 22:

Anadarko Town Hall Meeting

9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

City Hall, Council Chambers

501 West Virginia



Mountain View Town Hall Meeting

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Mountain View – Gotebo High School, Auditorium

150 South First Street



Hobart Town Hall Meeting

1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Hobart City Hall, Council Chambers

111 East 3rd Street



Hollis Town Hall Meeting

4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Hollis Civic Center

208 West Jones



Thursday, February 23:

Altus Town Hall Meeting

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Western Oklahoma State College, Band Room H12

2801 North Main Street



Mangum Town Hall Meeting

12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Mangum Welcome Center, Meeting Room

119 East Jefferson



Cordell Town Hall Meeting

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Washita County Activity Center 1005 East 3rd

A new edition of "SWODA Speaks" for the first quarter of 2012 is available, and a new edition will be published every quarter. It features news and events from the previous quarter, SWODA program features and updates on events to come. To be placed on the SWODA e-mail distribution list, please send your name and information to latialmurray@gmail.com.

Many rural communities from across Oklahoma apply for Community Development Block Grants, such as “CDBG-REAP.”  These communities often depend on grants like this to improve public infrastructure and economic development, which in turn promotes job growth.

Since 1974, South Western Oklahoma Development Authority (SWODA) has been an eight-county Economic Development District, assisting rural communities in their area to apply for and administer grants like these.

This year, three communities in SWODA’s area were awarded CDBG-REAP grants. Custer City received $100,000 for improvements to water lines and valves.  Kay Fischer, Custer City Clerk, said, “Without SWODA’s dedicated assistance in the grant process, Custer City wouldn’t have half of what we do.”

Burns Flat also received $84,510 for a street overlay project, and Mangum received $60,114 to purchase firefighting equipment.

SWODA Director of Community and Economic Development, Jana Harris, said, “CDBG-REAP grants are becoming increasingly competitive each year, and now the funding for these grants are in danger of being cut 15%. We’re thankful we were able to help these communities to receive a portion of these funds.”

For more information about the CDBG Program, call SWODA at 800-627-4882 or visit www.swoda.org/grantmgt.

 

In December SWODA awarded over $890,000 to eleven rural community projects in southwest Oklahoma. These funds were available through the Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP), which was designed in 1996 to help promote economic growth, community stability and improve the quality of life in communities with a population less than 7,000.

SWODA developed a specialized application and scoring system to help decide how the monies are allocated each year. Communities submit an application, and the applications are scored and submitted to the SWODA board of trustees for final approval.

This years REAP grants were awarded as follows:

Town of Mountain Park, Sewer Lift Station Improvements - $19,975

Town of Gotebo, Waterline Replacement Project - $100,000

City of Hobart, Construction of Animal Shelter Building - $100,000

Town of Carter, Waterline Replacement Project - $100,000

Town of Sentinel, Waterline Replacement Project - $99,900

Town of Dill City, Water Well Emergency Generator - $17,490

City of Snyder, Water Storage Tank Renovation - $100,000

Beckham County Rural Water #1, Installation of Booster Pump Station - $100,000

Town of Rocky, Purchase of Backhoe Machine - $50,000

City of Hollis, Sewer Line Replacement Project - $79,400

City of Thomas, New City Maintenance Barn - $79,500

Beckham County/North Fork Red River Conservation District, No-Till Drill - $47,500

 

 

SWODA Program Directors and employees have created a group that will provide presentations at community and civic meetings and events.  Presentation topics include state and federal grants, community development, workforce services, aging services and other specialty programs. For more information, or to reserve a SWODA speaker, contact SWODA at 800-627-4882, extension 122.

SWODA’s vision for western Oklahoma has grown and evolved over the years to match the needs of the counties and communities in the area.

At a recent meeting employees discussed how to continue to grow with the needs of the citizens in the area. A very long list of goals for future projects and service efforts was compiled and “TEAM SWODA” was formed.

“TEAM SWODA” is an alliance of employees dedicated to making a difference. Their goal is to serve communities in southwest Oklahoma through extra programs and service efforts to help communities and citizens in a more personal way.

The first initiative for TEAM SWODA was an eight-county coat drive, held from November 7 through December 7! The Elk City Police Department, Clinton Workforce Center, Greer County Courthouse, Harmon County Courthouse, Altus Workforce Center

Kiowa County Courthouse, Roger Mills County Courthouse, SWODA, and Cordell City Hall were all host sites for the donation boxes.

Over 200 coats were collected and distributed to individuals and organizations such as schools and womens’ shelters to help those in need.

  

“We weren’t sure how successful a coat drive would be, said Debora Glasgow, SWODA Executive Director, “but it was definately a great success, and we were so excited to be able help that many people!”

The regularly scheduled SWODA Board of Trustees meeting will be held, January 10th, at 2:00pm. The agenda may be downloaded on the Board of Trustees page.

We recently released our 2011 Annual report celebrating our 40th Anniversary.  Please download the attachment to view the report.