Drax was joined today by town leaders to announce the donation of $130,000.00 for the construction of a new community walking track in the city of Gloster, Mississippi. The announcement took place at the Gloster National Guard Armory where Mayor Jerry Norwood, Alderwoman Betty Green, several Gloster Aldermen, and community members unveiled plans for the walking track.
“Drax’s impact on our community cannot be understated, and this latest contribution will provide our citizens with a much-needed community outlet for exercise, recreation and health for years to come,” said Mayor Norwood. “The citizens of Gloster have put a walking track at the top of their list of improvements and to see it come to fruition is a great day for the city.”
While Drax has made several donations to projects in the Greater Gloster region, this is the largest donation Drax has provided to the Gloster community since opening its pellet plant in 2016.
The community walking track will be adjacent to the Gloster National Guard Armory. We worked closely with Mayor Jerry Norwood and other city leadership to determine the best project for Gloster’s citizens, and a walking track was unanimously agreed upon. Gloster leaders hope the track will provide a safe place for the community to walk/run for their health and well-being.
“Drax’s contribution will allow our citizens a place where they can gather for recreation or fellowship. It’s an opportunity for our community to take their health in their hands and we appreciate the donation,” said Betty Green, Gloster Alderwoman.
“Our commitment to the Gloster community goes well beyond the operations we have here,” said Matt White, Executive Vice President of Drax’s North America Operations. “We have a long history of engaging with local leaders and community advocates to ensure our efforts will be felt by citizens, and this walking track was specifically identified as a priority by the community.”
The event also included comments from Drax’s new community liaison, Gloster-resident Crystal Murray, who was appointed to the role earlier this year and who also serves as an administrator at the Amite Pellet Plant located in Gloster.
Previous donations from Drax to the Greater Gloster region have included fans and a P.A. system for the Ethel Vance Park, a new score board for the Pine Hills Dixie Youth baseball league field, STEM summer camps for kids, STEM support at the Middle and High Schools, and we also supported the Gloster community during natural disasters/storms with pallets of water, relief funds and other living essentials.
To learn more about Drax’s corporate giving, contact [email protected] for more information.
Photo caption: Drax team members are joined by Gloster leadership and community members to celebrate Drax’s contribution to a community walking track.
Contact Information:
Michelli Martin
U.S. Communications Manager
318-372-3988
[email protected]
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology.
Drax’s around 3,000 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties. For more information visit https://www.drax.com/us
Pellet production and supply:
The Group has 18 operational pellet plants and developments with nameplate production capacity of around five million tons a year.
Drax is targeting eight million tons of production capacity by 2030, which will require the development of over three million tons of new biomass pellet production capacity. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet plants supply biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses, and also to customers in Europe and Asia.
