A panel of 3 independent judges recently awarded $20,000 in scholarships as part of Wood County Electric Cooperative’s (WCEC) “Power My World” program. 10 local high school students, residing within WCEC’s 9-county service area, will each receive a $2,000 scholarship towards continuing education. The program is funded entirely by unclaimed capital credit payments returned to WCEC by the state and does not come from WCEC’s operating budget.
The independent judges were comprised of three WCEC members: Carol Hollen, Mineola, Chuck Roy, Yantis; and Terry Milligan, Ben Wheeler. These judges used various criteria to down-select the winners from from over 40 qualified applicants. Each judge was tasked with reviewing the submissions, accompanying academic records, and lists of civic and community achievements. Additionally, each student was required to submit an essay. Based on their outstanding work and achievements, the 10 2016 Power My World scholarship recipients are:
Gracie Beech, Yantis; Timber Brown, Winnsboro; Megan Byrd, Harmony; Halie Daniels, Winnsboro; Amanda Hendricks, Yantis; Hailey Holland, Lindale; Jessica Levee, Winona; Luke Reeves, Alba; Elizabeth Stone, Mt. Vernon; and Hylke Talsma, Mt. Vernon.
Of those selected, WCEC CEO/General Manager Debbie Robinson said, “There are so many exceptional students from our region, and I never envy the judges tasked with making the selections. Each of the candidates showed remarkable traits in various areas to include academics, and service to the community. Each year we are amazed by the talent and ambitions of the young men and women of our membership. I’m so glad that the cooperative is able to help them pursue their goals with these scholarships.”