"We've

known for a long time that not every young person plans

to attend a four-year college and that some are more

interested in vocational training," said EMC

President and CEO Michael C. Whiteside. "So often,

these kids fall through the cracks. We believe that this

new scholarship program is one way to catch them."

James W.

Beavers, Kenneth J. Rosser, Lisa Price and Mack Lipford

recently represented the Coweta-Fayette Trust (the

managing arm of Operation Round-Up) in presenting the

scholarships at ceremonies at the students' respective

schools.

Recipients

of the scholarships include Jason Elliott of Newnan High

School; Eric D. Edwards of East Coweta High

School; Shawn Eileen Reaves of East Coweta High

School; Lacy Smith of Sandy Creek High School; Daniel

Fletcher of Heard County High School; and Bridget

R. Randles of Heard County High School.

Operation

Round-Up allows EMC members to round up their monthly

electricity bills to the next highest dollar and

contribute the difference to a fund that assists

individuals and organizations in need. During 1999, the

program distributed almost $90,000 to a variety of

recipients, including individuals in need of medication

not covered by Medicare, local fire departments and

schools, as well as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Operation

Round-Up already funds the Melissa Segars Memorial

Scholarship, which annually awards ten scholarships in

the amounts of $1,000 and $2,500 to students from the 13

high schools in the EMC service area. Since 1993, when

Operation Round-Up was begun, members have contributed

more than $1 million to the local community.

If you know

of someone who might benefit from Operation Round-Up,

phone 770-502-0226 for information and an application.