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Cooper Industries Grants $50,000 to Support Outstanding Vocational Projects

9 June 1999

Cooper Industries Grants $50,000 to Support Outstanding Vocational Projects COOPER INDUSTRIES LOGO Cooper Industries' logo. (PRNewsFoto)[DM] HOUSTON, TX USA 05/13/1999    

       $300,000 Given to Public Schools' Vocational Programs Since 1989

    HOUSTON, June 8 -- Three schools received awards totaling
$50,000 through Cooper Industries' 1998-99 Project PACE
(Partnership to Aid Career Education).
    Union County Public Schools, Monroe, NC, won the first-place honor,
receiving a $25,000 award; Waukesha County Technical College in Pewaukee, WI,
won the second-place award of $15,000; and Arnold R. Burton Technology Center
in Salem, VA, won the third-place award of $10.000.
    Cooper Industries created Project PACE in 1989 to encourage
vocational-technical schools and educators to help students acquire the
knowledge, skills and abilities required to be successful in the workplace.
Its goal is to provide financial incentives to stimulate partnerships between
schools and local Cooper Industries facilities.
    First-place award winner Union County Public Schools, sponsored by Cooper
Tools in Monroe, won its award for placing high achieving Tech Prep students
in paid internships during their spring break with a mentor in a career field
they hope to pursue, establishing a warranty program to guarantee a student's
success, and for their production of a video highlighting local manufacturing
careers.  Union County's Warranty Program was awarded a Governor's Award of
Excellence by North Carolina Governor James Hunt in January, 1999.
    Waukesha County Technical College, sponsored by Cooper Power Systems in
Pewaukee, won its $15,000 Pacesetter award for their Career Quest Career
Exploration Program.  The program offers week-long, hands-on, technical,
school-to-work experiences designed to assist Milwaukee and Waukesha minority
middle school children and their teachers in understanding the relationship
between secondary education and the workplace.
    Arnold R. Burton Technology Center, sponsored by Cooper Crouse-Hinds in
Roanoke, won its $10,000 award for its Engineering Technique and Design
program.  The program integrates physics and precision machining for the
purpose of training students in design, programming and manufacturing to
industry standards.  The Center also offers training for Cooper employees in
computer technology and use.
    Cooper Industries, with 1998 revenues of $3.7 billion, is a worldwide
manufacturer of electrical products, tools and hardware.  Additional
information about Cooper is available on the company's World Wide Web site:
http://www.cooperindustries.com.
    For more information, contact Jennifer L. Evans, Manager, Corporate Giving
Programs of Cooper Industries, Inc., 713-209-8607.