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Four County EMC Bright Ideas Grant Program Awards over $19,500 to Local Teachers

Winning Teachers Honored at Bright Ideas Luncheon in Raleigh

Four County Electric Membership Corporation granted a total of $19,706 to teachers in Bladen, Duplin, Pender and Sampson counties through the Cooperative�s Bright Ideas program.

The teachers were among 150 educators honored Friday, November 16 at the annual Touchstone Energy Bright Ideas education grant awards luncheon at the Dail Club at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Stacey Bess, an inspirational educator, author, and a leading advocate in the nation for the educational rights of impoverished children, gave the keynote address.

Twenty-one creative teaching projects were funded by Four County Electric Membership Corporation that will benefit approximately 4,000 students in 14 different schools within the Four County EMC service territory.

The winning teachers are listed by respective county, along with the amount of funds they received in the chart below (listed in order of teacher(s) who submitted grant, school, project name and amount awarded).

“Bright Ideas gives our teachers additional resources for creative projects that are outside normal funding parameters,” said Gay Johnson, Director of Corporate Communications at Four County EMC. “We’re thrilled to provide these exceptional teachers with new tools to bring memorable learning experiences to students.”

       Since Bright Ideas originated in 1994, Four County EMC has granted $318,274 to local teachers. The program provides the means for innovative and creative projects that schools could otherwise not afford.  A portion of the money for the program comes from the North Carolina Electric Cooperatives, with the remaining funds contributed by Four County EMC. The electric cooperatives’ Bright Ideas program is the only education grant program exclusively for K-12 educators in schools across North Carolina.

       “Our judges score each application by how it directly involves students, how many students are affected, overall goals and objectives, creativity, and ongoing benefits for students to come,” Gay Johnson Director of Corporate Communications explains, “This year we received 65 applications from local teachers. We are excited to see so many teachers put forth the effort in creating unique projects for their students,” she stated.

       Four County Electric Membership Corporation is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative that serves approximately 32,500 members in Bladen, Duplin, Pender, Sampson, Columbus and Onslow counties.

The winning teachers are listed by respective county, along with the amount of funds they received (listed in order of teacher who submitted grant, school, project name and amount awarded):

2012 BLADEN COUNTY BRIGHT IDEAS EDUCATION GRANT WINNERS

2012 DUPLIN COUNTY BRIGHT IDEAS EDUCATION GRANT WINNERS

2012 PENDER COUNTY BRIGHT IDEAS EDUCATION GRANT WINNERS

2012 SAMPSON COUNTY BRIGHT IDEAS EDUCATION GRANT WINNERS