A panel of 3 independent judges has awarded $20,000 in scholarships as part of Wood County Electric Cooperative’s (WCEC) “Power My World” scholarship program. Ten local high school students, residing within WCEC’s 9-county service area will each receive a $2,000 scholarship towards continuing education. This program is funded entirely by unclaimed capital credit payments that have been held by the state and then returned to WCEC.
The independent judges were comprised of 3 WCEC members: Valerie McCullin, Quitman; Margie Allen, Yantis; and Wendy Ledkins, Mineola. They used various criteria to down-select the 10, who were chosen from 56 qualified applicants. The judges were each 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 exceptional work and achievements, the 2012 $2,000 scholarship recipients are:
Kolby Caraway, Mount Vernon; Heather Champion, Quitman; Hannah Clemmons, Lindale; Lucie Hunt, Winnsboro; Lindsey Kellam, Van; Jack Morris, Winnsboro; Danielle Sanders, Quitman; Susan Stradley, Hawkins; Wilder West, Winnsboro; Brianna Willis, Quitman.
Additionally, the $5,000 scholarship reserved for an enrolled college electrical engineering student, has been awarded to Lauren Hurley of Quitman. Lauren is currently enrolled in engineering studies at Baylor.
Of those selected, WCEC CEO/General Manager Debbie Robinson said, “It is an inspiration to see how many well-rounded and hardworking students we have in East Texas, as evidenced by this year’s applicants. They are a credit to their parents, our local school systems and fine educators. It will be interesting to follow each of these young men and women as they achieve their various goals.”
Wood County Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a not-for-profit electric cooperative with the mission of providing member-customers reliable electric service at a reasonable rate. WCEC serves over 33,000 meters in parts of 9 counties throughout northeast Texas, including Camp, Franklin, Hopkins, Rains, Smith, Titus, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood.