Peace River Electric Charitable Foundation Announces Scholarship Winners

 WAUCHULA-- This month Peace River Electric Charitable Foundation announced ten local scholarship winners. 
 
Operation Round Up, Peace River Electric Cooperative’s (PRECO) charitable foundation awarded $30,000 in scholarship funds to ten college-bound students.  Five renewable four-year and five renewable two-year scholarships were recently presented to students in Hardee and Manatee counties. 
 
The Foundation's nine-member board of independent directors selected recipients from PRECO's ten-county service area.  All student applicants were required to live in a residence which receives power from PRECO. 
 
Operation Round Up collects voluntary donations from its members for community charitable uses, and each registered consumer’s electric bill is ”rounded up“ to the next dollar to provide charitable funds in the areas of food, shelter, clothing, medical, environmental, and education.  Funds are distributed annually in $1,000 increments to accredited colleges, universities and technical schools on behalf of the students.
 
PRECO formed its chapter of Operation Round Up in 2005, and since that time has awarded nearly $175,000 in scholarships to local students.  Operation Round Up’s board president Julian ”Tip“ Tharp states, ”The Foundation’s board of directors considers the opportunity of a higher education as one of the greatest needs of any community.“
 
 
Recipients of a $4,000 four-year scholarship include:

Joseph Capriotti, Lakewood Ranch High School, Manatee County

Victoria Gomez, Lakewood Ranch High School, Manatee County

Bridget Komaroski, Lakewood Ranch High School, Manatee County

Jonnilyn Medeiros, Palmetto High School, Manatee County

Katie Rogers, Hardee High School, Hardee County

Two-year, $2,000 scholarship winners are:

Alana Cutrona, Lakewood Ranch High School, Manatee County

Paige Emrick, Lakewood Ranch High School, Manatee County

Kaitlyn Hanshaw, Hardee High School, Hardee County

Devon Harris, Hardee High School, Hardee County

Courtney Peterson, Hardee High School, Hardee County

To learn more about PRECO and Operation Round Up visit www.preco.coop.