Blue Ridge Electric Awards Local 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, 2003) – Grants totaling more than $5,000 were awarded to five 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:

• Todd Dixon, with team members Meredith Parks, Kathie Rider and Jeff Matheson, of Watauga High School, for “Freshman Academy New River State Park Project” which will benefit approximately 200 students whose academic performance may put them in jeopardy of dropping out of school. The grant totaled $1,791.

• Roberta Meyers-Edmisten, of Valle Crucis Elementary School, for “Motivating Middle Schoolers with Movies”, which will develop writing skills in 240 middle school students as they critique and review films from one of the most important events in world history: World War II. The grant totaled $600.

• Steve Ahn, with team member Kathy Burton, of Valley Crucis Elementary School, for “Technology to Go” which will benefit 120 science students in grades 6-8 students with access to Dana Alphasmart units to be used with scientific probes for data collection and analysis in science labs. The grant totaled $1,600.

• Cheryl Irwin, of Cove Creek Elementary School, for “Guidance in a Bag” to provide materials and assistance to all students in grades K-3 who need help dealing with various difficult issues including death, divorce, and separation anxiety. The grant totaled $322.

• Sandra Wagoner and Corrie Freeman, with team members Tammy Presnell, Maria Mohr, and Amy Hiatt, of Harden Park Elementary School, for “You Can’t be a Beacon if Your Light Don’t Shine” to benefit 4th through 8th grade students in the curriculum areas of art, math, language arts, science, social studies and media skills through a project centered around the study of the North Carolina coastline. The grant totaled $713.

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 2003-2004 school year, Blue Ridge Electric received seventy-eight Bright Ideas grant applications from schools in its service territory of Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Avery and Wilkes County. Funds totaling $17,744 are being awarded to 19 classroom teachers to directly benefit thousands of area students, teachers, schools and communities. Blue Ridge Electric is celebrating its 10th year of offering Bright Ideas grants as part of our support and commitment to education. To date, the cooperative has awarded over $175,000 and provided direct funding assistance that has impacted over 50,000 students.

To learn more about the Bright Ideas grants program, visit Blue Ridge Electric’s web site at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com or contact your local Blue Ridge Electric office and ask for Grey Scheer, director of community relations.