Sep 12, 2016 2 min read

Rice Energy made its annual response to first responders Friday, donating a total of $537,000 to 35 units in the four counties where the company drills.

Rice, an independent natural gas and oil firm, presented a check to each organization during a ceremony at its Southpointe II corporate headquarters. Twenty fire and emergency groups from Washington County and seven from Greene were among the recipients, along with six from Belmont County and two from Monroe, Ohio.

The three largest checks – $25,500 each – went to the public safety departments in Washington and Greene and to Belmont’s Emergency Management Agency.

A breakdown of the other 32 organizations, by county, follows.

Washington: Volunteer fire departments in Amwell, Bentleyville, Cokeburg, Ellsworth, Fallowfield, Lone Pine, North Strabane, Richeyville and South Strabane, $19,000 apiece; California, East Bethlehem, Finleyville, Marianna, Peters and Valley Inn, $10,500 each; and Cecil Nos. 1, 2 and 3, $5,500 each. Washington County Fire Academy also got $5,500.

Greene: Volunteer fire units in Center, Graysville, New Freeport and Richhill, $19,000 each; and Wayne and Waynesburg, $10,500 apiece.

Belmont: Belmont, Bethesda, Powhattan Point, Smith VFDs, $19,000 each; Morristown VFD, $10,500.

Monroe: Beallsville and Clarington fire departments, $10,500 each.

The money was collected at Rice’s fifth annual Marcellus Mania, a fundraising event/picnic July 31 that drew an estimated 3,000 people at the Washington County Fairgrounds. The $537,000 was the second-highest total, behind $617,000 in 2015. Overall, the company has donated $1,755 million.

Toby Rice, president and chief operating officer of Rice, said in a prepared statement that the funding “provides these organizations the opportunity to seek excellence by affording them the ability to upgrade equipment and better serve the communities where we do business. … We are committed to making our communities a better place.”