FOCUS: Peach State FCU to award over $161,000 in scholarships, grants

By Heather Griffin, Lawrenceville, Ga.  —  Peach State Federal Credit Union is currently accepting applications for its 2017 scholarship program, which will award more than $161,000 in scholarships and educational grants. The program was established to honor the credit union’s founders, past and present board members and employees, as well as the lifetime achievements of several notable school system and community leaders.

00.peach.statePeach State has added six new scholarships for 2017. Three of these are student scholarships honoring Gary Hobbs, retired Walton County superintendent, and Marion Barnes and the board of directors at Richmond County Teachers FCU, which merged with Peach State earlier this year. In keeping with tradition, when a student scholarship is added, a Career Advancement Scholarship is added as well. One of these three new Career Advancement Scholarships has been named to honor Wilma Widmer for her many years of service on Peach State’s supervisory committee.

Scholarship winners will be announced in the spring of 2017.   The following is a list of all available scholarships:

Nine $2,500 Legacy Student Scholarships will be awarded to high school seniors attending college to pursue a degree in education and plan to return to Georgia to teach.

Thirteen $2,500 school system and community honoree student scholarships will be awarded as a tribute to:

  • Marion Barnes, former Board Member for Richmond County Teachers FCU;
  • Anderson Byers, retired Superintendent of Jackson County School System;
  • Rick Cost, retiring Chief Financial Officer for Gwinnett County Public Schools;
  • Dan Cromer, retired Barrow County School System Superintendent;
  • Gary Hobbs, retired Superintendent of Walton County Public Schools;
  • Gracewood Student Scholarship honoring the Board of Directors from Richmond Community FCU (which merged with Peach State in July 2015);
  • Dr. John Jackson, retired Superintendent of the Oconee County School System;
  • Brian J. Mulherin, Sr., Director Emeritus;
  • Janet Pomeroy and Pearlie Woods for their dedication to the credit union and the Clarke County community Louise Radloff, member of the Gwinnett County Board of Education;
  • Richmond County Teachers Student Scholarship honoring the Board of Directors from Richmond County Teachers FCU; and
  • J. Alvin Wilbanks, CEO and Superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools.

Twenty-two $2,000 Career Advancement Scholarships, including the new Wilma Widmer Career Advancement Scholarship.

Boutwell

Boutwell

Peach State is also proud to support the following educational institutions with a combined total of $62,200 in scholarships and educational grants: Athens Technical College, Georgia Gwinnett College, Gwinnett County Public Schools, Gwinnett Technical College and the University of North Georgia.

Peach State President/CEO, Marshall Boutwell  says: “Awarding scholarships is one of the most important contributions we make to the community. Since we were founded in 1961, education has been at the core of our organization. Through this annual tradition, we hope to strengthen the lives of the recipients and in turn, our communities.”

Applications and eligibility criteria are available on the credit union’s website at www.peachstatefcu.org.

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