For Immediate Release-May 8, 2012

MONROE, Ga. - Outstanding students from across Walton Electric Membership Corporation's (EMC) 10-county service area are the beneficiaries of the cooperative's latest round of Operation Round Up college scholarships.

The scholarships were presented at a recent recognition banquet. Winners are Matthew Tyre (Abeka Academy); Jonathan Joiner (Archer High School); Michael Bottone, Neal Raines, Patrick Riley, Ian Schwaner (Brookwood High School); Nicholaas Dykstra (Clarke Central High School); Donovan Mahone, Kayla Thompson (Dacula High School); Kirby Kendall (George Walton Academy); Sarah Etheridge, Caitlin Haynes (Grayson High School); Justin Myers, Taylor Pender (Loganville Christian Academy); Kimberly Reed (Loganville High School); Taylor Almand, Leah Chandler, Richard Hester, Daniel Meadows, Kirby Smith (Monroe Area High School); Brooke Bailey, Wes Brooks, Jackson Perry (North Oconee High School); Garrett Hibbs, Caroline McAuthur (Oconee County High School); Michael Everett, Vasily Hillis, Katherine Stilley, Sean Sweet (Parkview High School); Daniel Ware (Prince Avenue Christian School); Brianna Canady (Providence Christian Academy); Arlando Griffin (South Gwinnett High School); Cody Reed, Eric Wise (Walnut Grove High School).

"In the minds of us who made the final selections, one trait seemed to stand out," said Operation Round Up board member Ken Graff. "We selected the applications that showed heart. Lots of heart."

The money for these scholarships comes from a unique source -- unclaimed refunds.

Every year, hundreds of customer-owners move away and discontinue their Walton EMC electric service without leaving a good forwarding address. The company tries to find these people through ads and lists. When the search comes up empty, the money goes into an endowment fund with the interest being used for the scholarships.

Georgia law provides that community development projects, like these scholarships, are an appropriate use of these unclaimed funds. No regular monthly Operation Round Up contributions are used for the awards. Since the scholarship program began,175 scholarships worth $395,000 have been given.

Walton EMC is a customer-owned electric utility that serves 118,000 accounts over its 10-county service area between Atlanta and Athens.

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Click on Photo for High Resolution Version Local students recently gathered to receive Walton EMC Operation Round Up scholarships including, in front, Kirby Smith, Garrett Hibbs, Daniel Meadows, Leah Chandler, Vasily Hillis, Taylor Pender, Daniel Ware, Michael Bottone, Michael Everett, Caitlin Haynes, Donovan Mahone, Richard Hester, Katherine Stilley, Brianna Canady; back, Kirby Kendall, Jackson Perry, Wes Brooks, Sarah Etheridge, Matthew Tyre, Taylor Almand, Kayla Thompson, Sean Sweet, Cody Reed, Jonathan Joiner, Brooks Bailey, Ian Schwaner, Neal Raines, Nicholaas Dykstra and Caroline McArthur.