Okefenoke REMC recently held its 31^st annual Youth Awards Banquet at The Barn at Cottonwood Ranch in Callahan, Florida, to announce its 2024 OREMC Scholarship winners and the four students selected as delegates for the OREMC Youth Tour.

Students residing in one of the eight counties OREMC serves—Brantley, Camden, Charlton, Glynn, Ware and Wayne counties in Georgia, and Baker and Nassau counties in Florida were eligible to apply for the 10 scholarships of $2,000 each.  Scholarships were awarded to students accepted to a college or technical school and based on their autobiographical sketch, academic achievement, extra-curricular and community service activities, letters of recommendation and financial need. Their awards bring OREMC’s total scholarships to more than $320,000.

This year’s winners are: Breanna Taylor, Baker County High School; Chance Salter, Brantley County High School, Ethan Tuttle, Camden County High School; Peyton Passieu, Charlton County High School; Merritt Hornbuckle, Glynn Academy; Baylie Cruce, West Nassau High School; Isaac Hunter, Hilliard Middle-Senior High School; Amiyah Elam and Connor Chapman, Ware County High School and Aiden Jones, Wayne County High School.

Walter Harrison Scholarship Finalist  

From the OREMC Scholarship winners, two students—Chance Salter, Brantley County High School and Ethan Tuttle, Camden County High School—were selected as a finalist for the Walter Harrison Scholarship, which is funded and awarded by the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation. The scholarship is named in honor of Walter Harrison, a pioneer in the rural electricity movement and a leader at the local, state and national levels in the electric cooperative program. Selected students must be accepted at and planning to attend a college or technical school in Georgia.

Four Delegates Selected for the OREMC Youth Tour

OREMC has selected four students as 2024 Youth Tour delegates: Karis Richardson, Baker County High School; Brittany Reyez, Glynn Academy; Owen Hopkins, Ware County High School; and Chase Grantham, Wayne County High School. They will join delegates from Georgia’s 38 other electric membership cooperatives for an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., in June for the Youth Tour Leadership Experience. The trip will begin with teambuilding in Atlanta before heading to Washington where they will meet with elected officials and be immersed in monuments, museums, memorials and more.