Blue Ridge Electric Awards Caldwell 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

Lenoir, North Carolina (November 14, 2002) – Grants totaling $5,594 were awarded to five local educators today by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation during a luncheon ceremony at Cedar Rock Country Club 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:

Shawn Moore, of William Lenoir Middle, for “Will You be a Martian?” to benefit 120 students. The grant totaled $1,398.
Libby Huff, of Granite Falls Middle, for “Robotics Lab” to benefit 744 students. The grant was for $1,500.
Ann Matthews, of West Lenoir Elementary, for “Log It” to benefit 110 students. The grant was for $928.
Ben Willis, of Collettsville Elementary, for “Classroom Travelers” to benefit 472 students. The grant totaled $1,472.
Andrea Gatwood, of Sawmills Elementary, for “Schoolyard Habitats” to benefit 400 students. The grant was for $294.

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. Over $17,000 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.