Blue Ridge Electric Awards Educators Grants for Innovative Teaching Projects
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Boone, North Carolina (November 12, 2002) – Grants totaling $4,500 were awarded to four local educators today by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation during a luncheon ceremony at Broyhill Inn and Conference Center honoring the cooperative’s Bright Ideas grants recipients.
Bright Ideas is an academic grants program sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation in conjunction with the North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation and its 26 other member electric cooperatives. Bright Ideas grants help further traditional academic learning by funding innovative scholastic projects that go beyond available school funding.
Winners of the grants are:
- Robin Ebaugh, of Parkway Elementary, for “Solar Energy Investigation” to benefit 700 students. The grant totaled $1,050.
- Roberta Meyers-Edminsten, of Valle Crucis Elementary, for “Soil, Symbiosis, & the Study of Plants” to benefit 40 students. The grant totaled $758.
- Debbie Eggers, of Cove Creek Elementary, for “Cove Creek Grows Bright!” to benefit 324 students. The grant totaled $1,500.
- Mary Kent Whitaker, of Blowing Rock School, for “The Orbiter” to benefit 489 students. The grant totaled $1,000.
Each September, Blue Ridge Electric seeks applications from area educators and principals serving grades K-12 in public schools. Grants are awarded in amounts from $100 to a maximum of $2,000. For the 2002-2003 school year, Blue Ridge Electric received sixty-two Bright Ideas grants from Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Avery and Wilkes Counties. A total of $17,701 in funds is being awarded in November to 19 teachers and schools to directly benefit thousands of area students. This is the ninth year Blue Ridge Electric has offered Bright Ideas grants as part of its support for local education. To date, the cooperative has awarded $158,000 and provided direct funding assistance that has impacted almost 50,000 students.
To learn more about the Bright Ideas grants program, visit Blue Ridge Electric’s web site at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com.
