Shenandoah Receives TML Award For SWIFT Program

SHENANDOAH, TEXAS. (November 14, 2008) The City of Shenandoah received the 2008 Municipal Excellence Award in Public Works for cities with a population of less than 25,000 from the Texas Municipal League (TML) at the annual conference in San Antonio on October 28-31.

The award was given for the Shenandoah Wireless Interface Technology (SWIFT), a wireless internet access system that serves residents throughout the city who have unlimited use at no extra charge and with little to no additional equipment required in their homes. The system will ultimately phase into the commercial areas to serve merchants and business owners in Shenandoah as well.

The SWIFT WiFi system has been a big success and is a selling point for attracting potential residents and businesses to the city. Based on this success, Shenandoah is considering additional customer-oriented services in the future.

City officials and staff were on hand at the TML conference to accept the award. Garry B. Watts, Mayor of Shenandoah commented on the award, "Our IT coordinator, Bubba Priesmeyer really made the SWIFT program come together, with the guidance of the people from ICTX-WaveMedia. He has spent countless hours getting it off the ground and supporting the residents as they transitioned over to the new system. We are very proud of him and the success of the SWIFT program, and we are honored to receive the award." City officials hope that the success of the SWIFT program will also be a model for other communities to follow as they consider similar services for their residents and businesses.

The Texas Municipal League is a voluntary association of more than 1,200 Texas cities, with the primary objectives of serving the needs and advocating the interests of Texas cities. It is the largest organization of its kind in the United States, and Shenandoah is a member of the TML.

Shenandoah is located 35 miles north of Houston and straddles Interstate 45. It is home to a variety of hotels, three hospitals, more than 39 high-quality restaurants, over one million square feet of retail shopping space, including Portofino Center and Sam Moon Center, over 960,000 square feet of office space, and the new CISD stadium and natatorium complex. For more information, contact our office at (281) 292-5953.

Photo Caption: (left to right) Shenandoah City Administrator Chip VanSteenberg, ICTX-WaveMedia representatives Carl Merzi, Tommy Sammons, Shenandoah IT Coordinator Bubba Priesmeyer, Shenandoah Mayor Garry B. Watts, and Tony Gilmore, Corey King, and Mark Sammons, also with ICTX-WaveMedia accept the award from TML at the recent city council meeting.