Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative

Blue Ridge Electric continues to be a huge part of the community. Involvement in our local school systems is a vital part of our community efforts.

Mrs. Kennedy, Dustin Ahrens, Robby Merck, Rex Ramsay, Amanda Machen, Mr. Kennedy, Susan King and Kathy Ellenburg all served as judges at A.R. Lewis Elementary School’s Science Fair, which was held on December 4. Blue Ridge Electric and the Kennedys are business partners with A.R. Lewis.

Serving a second year as judges at Pickens Elementary’s Science Fair held January 8 are Scott Stegenga, of Table Rock State Park, Liza Holder, Jason Kelley, Beverly Crenshaw and Tim Mays of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative.

Supporting education is just one more way that Blue Ridge demonstrates its commitment to the communities that it serves. “Education is a critical factor in the success of our young people,” said Blue Ridge President and CEO Charles Dalton. “A good education not only impacts the life of the student that received it, it also impacts our economy and affects our standard of living. Judging science fairs is one of the ways that we lend our support to area schools.”

As a business partner with A.R. Lewis Elementary, many Blue Ridge employees spend time each month serving as reading buddies or assisting the school in other areas of need. Some of these volunteers were asked to judge A.R. Lewis’s Science Fair on December 4. “It’s a pleasure as well as an honor to be asked to serve as a Science Fair judge,” said Susan King. “The hardest part about being a judge is being asked to select a winner. There were a lot of really great entries.”

For the second year in a row, several of our employees were also asked to judge Pickens Elementary School’s Science Fair, which was held on January 8. The school’s instructional coach requested that Blue Ridge employees be invited back because they did such a thorough job judging last year’s event. “This was my second year to judge a science fair and I thoroughly enjoyed myself,” said Beverly Crenshaw. “I’m always impressed by the creativity displayed in the student’s projects. It’s fun and sometimes difficult to judge so many wonderful entries.”

Fourth grade classes at A.R. Lewis Elementary School in Pickens, made a field trip to Blue Ridge Electric in March. Students received an electrical safety demonstration and learned about how electricity travels to their homes. They were also given a tour of the co-op's facilities and a bucket truck demonstration.

Joining with electric cooperatives from across South Carolina as well as the nation, Blue Ridge recently distributed over 10,000 fingerprint/DNA identification kits to first graders and second graders in its service area.

This unique joint effort among Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, the American Football Coaches Association and the Federal Bureau of Investigation provides parents and guardians with a fingerprint identification tool to help protect their children. The program, dubbed The National Child Identification Program, is one of the largest child identification efforts ever conducted and provides local cooperatives with fingerprint I.D. kits to distribute among their members and in the communities they serve.

The I.D. kit allows parents to collect specific information, including DNA, by easily recording the physical characteristics and fingerprints of their children on identification cards that are then kept at home by the parent or guardian.

“In the event it was ever needed, this I.D. kit would provide authorities with valuable information to assist in their efforts to locate a missing child,” said Blue Ridge Electric President and CEO Charles Dalton. “We care about our communities and we care about the children in them. Blue Ridge is pleased to be part of a “grass-roots” effort to help protect our most precious assets—our children.”