PRECO Names Scholarship Winners

Posted: June 29, 2022 at 4:22 pm

Operation Round Up, Peace River Electric Cooperative’s charitable foundation, granted $102,000 in college scholarships to 20 local students in 11 area schools. Since its launch in 2005, Operation Round Up has provided 234 college scholarships amounting to more than $1.1 million in the cooperative’s 10-county service area.

“In our current economy, many families are feeling the pinch of spiraling costs for basic needs, such as groceries, gasoline and medicines,” says Ellen Hamel, Operation Round Up board chairperson. “With these scholarship grants, we hope to ease some of the financial burden on college students and their families.”

To be eligible, student applicants must reside in a home served by PRECO, maintain good grades, be active in the community and submit an essay describing their life, career and educational goals.

Funding for Operation Round Up comes from the voluntary donations of PRECO’s member-consumers who allow their monthly electric bills to be “rounded up” to the next dollar. Funds collected are used to help local families and organizations with food, shelter, clothing, health, and education needs.

Learn more about Operation Round Up.

Scholarship winners

Liam Wilford                           Braden River High School                    $8,000

Michelle Leon-Garcia             Fort Meade High School                     $8,000

Sarah Gibson                         Hardee High School                             $2,000

Zachary Geiger                       Lakewood Ranch High School             $4,000

Sara Hutchinson                      Lakewood Ranch High School             $4,000

Nicole Hyer                             Lakewood Ranch High School             $4,000

Lexington Kahler                     Lakewood Ranch High School             $8,000

Sam Leavy                               Lakewood Ranch High School             $4,000

Kelsey McLeod                        Lakewood Ranch High School             $4,000

Hannah, Pruszinske                 Lakewood Ranch High School             $4,000

Gabriell Suazo-Gracia             Lakewood Ranch High School             $4,000

Courtney Bauer                      Manatee High School                          $4,000

Samantha Malcolm                Out-of-Door Academy                        $8,000

Eleanor Hopkins                      Palmetto High School                          $8,000

Lauren Schindler                     Saint Stephen’s Episcopal                   $8,000

David Iten                                Southeast High School                        $4,000

Emma Zolecki                         Southeast High School                        $4,000

Rachel Garland                       Florida Southern University                $4,000

Sydney Granack                      University of South Florida                 $4,000

Hudson Norman                     University of South Florida                 $4,000