Sawnee EMC Gifts Lanier Tech $5,000 for Dual Enrollment

--By Staff Writer on --

The Lanier Technical College Foundation receives a $5,000 gift from Sawnee EMC’s Unclaimed Patronage Capital funds to help dual enrollment students from Dawson and Forsyth Counties attend the College.

A total of 38 Dawson and Forsyth County high school students were recipients of the Sawnee EMC fund that covered the costs to take dual enrollment classes that are not covered by the HOPE Scholarship. The money allowed them to take the classes in the Spring Semester which began January 7, 2013. Dual Enrollment is the process through which high school students take courses from a Technical College while still enrolled as a high school student and receive credit both at the high school and Lanier Technical College.

“Sawnee EMC is very proud to be able to provide assistance to these well-deserving students who might otherwise not have been able to afford the program.  We have a long history of supporting our local education systems and we hope to continue that practice for many years to come” said Blake House, Vice President of Member Services at Sawnee.

Currently there are 210 high school students taking dual enrollment courses at Lanier Technical College’s five campuses that include, Dawson County, Forsyth County, Jackson County, Barrow County and its main campus in Oakwood, GA (Hall County).

Because Sawnee EMC is a non-profit electric cooperative, each year its members receive an assignment of “patronage capital” in the records of the Cooperative based on the amount of capital they provided through their electric bills for that year. This is defined in the Bylaws as an “allocation of the revenue in excess of operating costs and expenses” and is required by Georgia law. Sawnee EMC then retires this patronage capital back to the members when the Board of Directors determines that doing so will not impair the Cooperative’s overall financial position.

The mission of Lanier Technical College is workforce development. With over 3,200 jobs added in the College’s service area since 2011, it is vital that Lanier Tech be able to provide job training and a skilled workforce to fill employers’ needs.