Saxony Lutheran High School Receives Big River Telephone School Grant

Cape Girardeau, December 7, 2004-Big River Telephone Company announced today that $28,500 grant has been awarded to Saxony Lutheran High School in Fruitland, MO. The grant provides $9,500 per year for high-speed Internet access to the school for a three year period.

The high-speed Internet access will be used primarily by the students for educational purposes, but will also be available to the faculty and staff for other administrative needs. This grant is intended to aid faculty members in teaching and help to prepare the Saxony Lutheran students for transition into college and the work environment, where Internet access has become commonplace.

Saxony Lutheran recently built a new school located on Interstate 55 off of the Fruitland exit. The goal in the new facility was to accommodate a growing student body and provide a state-of-the-art learning environment for the students and faculty. Big River Telephone was able to assist Saxony Lutheran in their efforts by providing this grant for technical services.

"With this grant, Saxony Lutheran High School can continue to combine technology with classroom instruction to provide an excellent, well-rounded Christian education for our students. The Internet has become an integral part of today's classroom. We want to thank Big River for their generous grant," said Craig Ernstmeyer, Principal, Saxony Lutheran.

“We think Saxony Lutheran does an excellent job of educating and preparing our youth to be excellent citizens for the future. We wanted to help out in the best way we could to support their mission,” stated Kevin Cantwell, President of Big River Telephone.

Big River Telephone assisted another area private school with a similar grant approximately two years ago. “We are proud to provide whatever support we can to area schools and welcome others to request our services,” stated Cantwell.

In response to meeting the needs of its customers Big River Telephone has continued to grow its organization by providing customized service, communications and data solutions.

Big River Telephone Company is a full service telecommunications offering a full suite of local telephone, long distance, and Internet services to business and residential customers in the Midwest. For more information, call 800-455-1608 or visit the company’s website at www.bigrivertelephone.com