Published 12:52 pm Friday, February 7, 2025
By Staff Reports
By Kris Harrell
Special to The Selma Times-Journal
Pioneer Electric Cooperative is awarding $17,000 in total scholarships to learners in Dallas County, providing opportunities for traditional students and those interested in careers in the lineworker industry.
There are a total of nine scholarships available: seven scholarships are available for traditional students planning to continue their studies, and two scholarships for students hoping to enter the industry.
“As a co-op, we’re interested in growing our community and serving our members above all else,” said Christi Scruggs, vice president of marketing and communications at Pioneer Electric. “These scholarships are just a way for us to demonstrate that commitment to our communities and to our young people.”
For graduating high school seniors in Lowndes, Dallas, Butler and Wilcox counties, there are two $5,000 lineworker scholarships. The program will award scholarships to students who attend an accredited 15-week lineworker training program.
With their application, students will need their high-school transcript, two letters of recommendation, a valid driver’s license, resume, and a 250-word statement on why they are interested in a career as a lineworker.
“Our goal through the scholarship is to create a pool of trained line workers that may come to work for us one day or they may not,” Scruggs said. “There is a shortage of line workers in our industry, and we just see that as a way we can help our young people see it as an opportunity for a great career and a great industry – the electric industry in general – whether they work for us or Alabama Power or even some contractors that we have that work in our area. We just want to help that interest grow in that field.”
The cooperative is also offering seven $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors who plan to continue their studies at post-secondary or vocational/technical institutions. Students must be dependents of Pioneer Electric members and attend an accredited school in Lowndes, Butler, Dallas or Wilcox counties.
Funding for these scholarships were collected from Pioneer Electric’s Operation Round Up program, where members of Pioneer Electric have the option to round up their utility bill to the nearest dollar. That change is then put towards charitable organizations and scholarships.
Applicants must submit their high school transcript, Pioneer Electric account number, the last four digits of their social security number (SSN), a resume and three letters of recommendation.
“The reason we do that is we believe in growing our own,” Scruggs said. “We love to support our community; we would love to see these young people go off get their education and come back and decide to live here [to] help make our local community stronger”
Applications for the traditional students and lineworker scholarships close Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. To apply for or learn more about these scholarships, visit pioneerelectric.com/scholarships.
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