Heat Treat Industry News
March 19, 2008
Nucor companies give more than $1M to scholarship fund
BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. - Two steel firms will provide more than $1 million in scholarships to students wanting to attend Arkansas Northeastern College, officials announced Tuesday.
The new money for the Great River Promise scholarship program will fund about 50 two-year, full tuition scholarships per year. Nucor-Yamato Steel and Nucor Steel Arkansas, the companies funding the program, have said it will run for the next seven years.
"We're hoping that this pledge will establish (Great River Promise) as a program that will work," said Doug Jellison, Nucor-Yamato's vice president and general manager. "We think education is the key to a successful community and successful businesses."
Jellison said he hopes the more than $1 million gift will inspire others to make similar pledges.
Liz Smith, executive director of the Blytheville/Gosnell Area Chamber of Commerce, has similar hopes.
"Our hope is that Nucor has set an example for all of the industries and businesses in the county, as well as individuals in the county, who share the desire to see our work force develop and to see our children achieve higher standards," Smith said. "The 'promise' in the program is the promise of a better life."
The Great River Promise began this fall with the current ninth-graders at Armorel, Blytheville and Gosnell high schools and Pathway Christian Academy. If the ninth-graders attend four consecutive years of high school, maintain a 95 percent attendance record and have no drug or drunken-driving offenses, they can receive the scholarships, provided other means of financial aid are exhausted.
The Great River Promise comes after another such program was established last year. In south Arkansas, Murphy Oil Corp. created the $50 million El Dorado Promise, a 20-year scholarship program for students attending the town's high school.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 3:45 PM CDT
Information from: Blytheville Courier News, http://www.blythevillecn.com/
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