Mason PUD 3 honored

Mason PUD 3 was awarded the Paul J Raver community service award from the Northwest Public Power Association at its annual meeting in Kennewick.

According to a news release, the award was in recognition of its community service efforts in response to the pandemic. The PUD was honored for providing free high-speed Wi-Fi hotspots at the beginning of the pandemic to allow students access to classwork and assignments.

The project involved PUD 3 teaming up with fire districts, port districts, community halls and others to setup wireless hotspots at 28 sites throughout Mason County.

“We are proud to receive this recognition among our peers at NWPPA. We understand the importance of our role as a community-owned utility in helping expand rural broadband.” said Annette Creekpaum, Mason PUD 3 manager in a news release. PUD 3’s communications and government relations manager, Lynn Eaton, added, “High speed internet is an essential utility. We are working hard to build out fiber optic infrastructure to homes and businesses in our unserved areas of Mason County but unfortunately this is a slow process. The free Wi-Fi hotspots were a lifeline during a desperate time in our community.”