Blue Ridge Electric Announces Scholarship and Youth Leadership Opportunities
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Public Relations, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager: 1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (January 20, 2006) – As part of its commitment to local communities, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation announces that it is now accepting applications for college scholarships and youth development opportunities that combine travel with learning.
Each year, the cooperative awards $15,600 in scholarships that are awarded to high school seniors and adults living within the cooperative’s service territory who are seeking a higher education. Residents from Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, and Wilkes counties are eligible to apply. Scholarships are awarded based on a combination of financial need, community activity, school performance and activities, and personal interviews.
Scholarships available include five Goodman-Hurt scholarships worth $2,000 each. These will be awarded to selected high school seniors seeing four-year degrees at a college or university. Additionally, seven scholarships worth $800 each are available to anyone living in the cooperative's service territory seeking a two-year degree. These come in the form of five $800 Goodman-Hurt technical/vocational scholarships and the Tom Cockerham and Charles Suddreth scholarships worth $800 each.
The Tom Cockerham and Charles Suddreth scholarships were formed to honor former board members of the cooperative. The Tom Cockerham scholarship is awarded each year to an Ashe County resident seeking a 2-year degree while the Charles Suddreth scholarship goes to a Caldwell County resident seeking a 2-year degree.
How to Apply for Scholarships
Applications for the scholarships are available from local high school guidance counselors, community colleges in the Blue Ridge Electric service territory, or on-line at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com. The deadline for scholarship applications is March 31.
Youth leadership opportunities are also sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric.
Each June, Blue Ridge Electric awards up to four rising seniors from its service area with an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the Youth Tour, a program sponsored by cooperatives across the nation through NRECA (National Rural Electrification Association). In the nation’s capitol they join other students from across the country for an educational and fun learning experience. The week-long trip begins June 10 and combines visiting historic sights, learning about rural electrification, meeting North Carolina elected officials and witnessing our government in action. Youth Tour winners are also eligible to apply for several national college scholarships.
Individual short essays and interviews determine Youth Tour winners.
How to Apply for Youth Tour
Youth Tour applications are available through guidance counselors or on-line at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com. All applications must be submitted by March 15.
Blue Ridge Electric also annually sponsors up to seven students from its service area to attend the highly acclaimed Broyhill Leadership Conference at Belmont Abby College. The five-day conference held during the summer is available to any student in grades 10 through 12 who are nominated by their guidance counselor. Young people from across the nation will participate in the Broyhill Leadership Conference, which is designed to lead students to an understanding and usage of goal setting, motivational techniques, group dynamics, communication, and cooperation.
How to Apply for Broyhill Leadership Camp
Applications are available through high school guidance counselors.
For more information on scholarships or youth opportunities sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric, contact Grey Scheer, director of community relations, by calling your local Blue Ridge Electric office. Or contact him via e-mail at gscheer@blueridgeemc.com.
Blue Ridge Electric is a member owned utility cooperative serving over 68,000 members in northwest North Carolina. Its subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, is a propane and heating fuels company with offices in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany and Catawba counties.
