The winners of the $2,000 scholarships were: Jared Judkins from Cannon County; Evan Dunne, Michael Harber, Rachel Elrod and Mary Lane Minatra from Rutherford County; William Weatherford from Williamson County; and Michael Singer, Heather Sandefur, Morgan Tungate and William Singer from Wilson County.

Scholarship winners must be an MTEMC member or child of a member, and they must use the monies to attend a Tennessee 2- or 4-year accredited college or trade school.

"The cooperative's seven principles include a commitment to education, and we strive to do that by being involved in our school systems," MTEMC Community Relations Coordinator Cathy Mitchell said. "These scholarships are another way we can add to that effort."

Prospective students must fill out an application and complete a one-page essay stating how the scholarship funds would benefit their personal goals. All essays are judged by a group of volunteer school teachers from the MTEMC service area.

The scholarship applicants are judged on a point system that considers financial need, grade point average, involvement in community service, leadership roles and the personal essay. The applicants with the top point totals were awarded the scholarships.

The scholarships are funded through donated monies, which are administered by the SharingChange Board. Since 2003, MTEMC charitable donations total more than $9 million to the communities Middle Tennessee Electric serves.

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative providing electricity to more than 210,000 residential and business members in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford and Cannon counties.