Area High School Students Receive Scholarship Awards From Jasper County
CARTHAGE, Mo., June 30 -- Six area high school students are feeling a little better about paying their college tuition today. Jasper County Associate Commissioner Anna Ruth Crampton awarded $833 in scholarship checks each to Jennifer Renee Collier, Jennifer Erin Hutchinson, Blake Edward Ferguson, Rachel Leann McCune, Raenan Elyse Stephens, and Molly Kate Weldon. All are sons and daughters of county employees and were selected as recipients by Crampton, along with Presiding Commissioner Chuck Surface and Eastern District Commissioner Jim Honey.
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The scholarship money resulted from an award given to Commissioner Crampton by the National Association of Counties (NACo). The Caucus Court- house Award, sponsored by Siemens, is given to two elected officials per year in recognition of their efforts to improve the lives of citizens through outstanding governance and strong leadership. Each award winner receives $5,000 to present to graduating high school seniors, a crystal sculpture, and recognition at NACo's annual conference (which will be held July 16-20 in Phoenix, AZ). This year's other award recipient is a county official from Gwinnett County, GA.
"Siemens awards the NACo member county officials who produce tangible results to improve the lives of the people in their communities," says Commissioner Crampton. "To encourage young people to carry on this important task, I have the privilege of selecting outstanding students like both Jennifers, Blake, Rachel, Raenan, and Molly who may one day become leaders in their own communities."
The scholarship winners are encouraged to pursue higher education, a long-standing value at Siemens. Last year, Siemens donated $3 million to American education through scholarships, apprenticeship programs, and research grants to more than 100 universities.
"Together, Siemens and NACo work to overcome critical issues facing counties, such as homeland security, information technology, health and human services, and public safety. This partnership is a perfect example of how the private and public sectors can work together to make a difference," says Crampton.
"I also view this NACo award to a Missouri county as 'icing on the cake,' in light of the fact that Karen Miller, one of my colleagues from Boone County, is currently president of the national association."
Commissioner Crampton submitted to NACo the outline of a master plan to deal with elevated levels of lead in the blood of area children. When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated a large part of Jasper County as a federal Superfund site, the local elected officials and business leaders realized that this could have disastrous consequences for economic development and, most importantly, the health of the children. In the early 1900s, Jasper County was the heart of the largest lead mining region in the world and is now paying the price for the excesses of lead and other heavy metal deposits having toxic effect on the lives of citizens. Very severe lead exposure can cause coma, convulsions and even death.
To that end, Commissioner Crampton created the Environmental Task Force of Jasper and Newton Counties to provide guidance and leadership in resolving this problem. The role of the task force was to be one that went beyond the threat posed by the heavy metals. The group looked at all of the environmental issues in both counties and developed one of the first environmental master educational plans for a county in the United States. Crampton notes that the task force was chaired by the late Earl S. Carr, former Joplin mayor and the main person whom the county commission feels turned a negative situation into a positive one for the Southwest Missouri area.
About Siemens:
Siemens AG is one of the largest global electronics and engineering companies with reported worldwide sales of $80.5 billion in fiscal 2003. Founded more than 150 years ago, the company is a leader in the areas of Information and Communications, Automation and Control, Power, Transportation, Medical and Lighting. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City, Siemens in the USA has sales of $16.6 billion and employs 65,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Ten of Siemens' worldwide businesses are based in the United States. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens AG and its subsidiaries employ 417,000 people in 192 countries.
For more information on Siemens in the U.S.: http://www.usa.siemens.com/. About NACo:
The National Association of Counties (NACo) was created in 1935 when county officials wanted to have a strong voice in the nation's capital. Now, almost seven decades later, NACo continues to ensure that the nation's 3,066 counties are heard and understood in the White House and on Capitol Hill. NACo's membership totals more than 2,000 counties, representing over 80 percent of the nation's population.
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