BRE, NC Electric Coops Receive National Recognition for Bright Ideas Program

LENOIR, N.C., February 19, 2010 — The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) recently honored the North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives with a National Community Service Award for Youth Programs. The statewide association received the award for “Bright Ideas,” an educational grants program administered by co-ops, including Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, throughout the state. The award was presented at NRECA’s 2010 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Ga.

Since the inception of the Bright Ideas grants program in 1994, electric cooperatives in North Carolina have awarded more than $7 million to deserving teachers in schools across the state to sponsor almost 6,400 classroom projects. In 2009, co-ops received nearly 2,000 applications and collectively distributed $580,000 in grant money to North Carolina teachers. Blue Ridge Electric awarded 20 projects totaling $18,852 last year.

“Bright Ideas is just one example of the many things that Blue Ridge Electric and the rest of the state’s electric cooperatives do for the communities in which they serve. We are proud to receive national recognition for the Bright Ideas teacher grant program and are honored to be a part of an organization that so strongly stands for the value of commitment to community,” said Grey Scheer, director of community relations.

“An investment in schools is a long-term investment in the community,” said F.E. “Wally” Wolski, president of the NRECA Board of Directors. “North Carolina’s electric cooperatives have touched the lives of nearly one million North Carolina students with Bright Ideas grants and, during this recession, helped to fill a widening gap in rural education budgets.”

This year, Blue Ridge Electric will celebrate its 17th year of offering Bright Ideas grants as part of its support and commitment to education. Blue Ridge Electric accepts applications for Bright Ideas grants each year in September. The Projects must directly benefit students, provide on-going benefits, and use innovative teaching methods. Applications and full details of the Bright Ideas program can be found at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com or http://www.ncbrightideas.com/.

Blue Ridge Electric is a member-owned electric cooperative serving some 73,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Avery, Alexander and Wilkes counties.

The North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives is a corporation that provides trade association services to the state’s 26 electric cooperatives, which collectively deliver electricity to 2.5 million people in 93 of the state’s 100 counties

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 42 million people in 47 states. More than 6,000 representatives from cooperative electric utilities across the nation recently attended the NRECA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, where they set NRECA’s legislative and organizational agenda for 2010.