MMUA Scholarship
Annual MMUA ‘Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship Award’ program guidelines
Contest purposes
- To give something back to the community.
- To increase awareness of public power.
Prizes
The scholarship fund is split into $2,000, $1,500, $1,000 and $500 scholarships, and awarded to essay contest winners who plan to attend a post-secondary educational institution.
Guidelines for submission
Because decisions by judges and disqualifications according to the guidelines are final, entrants should read and follow these guidelines closely:
- Entries are to interpret one or more aspects of the theme, “Municipal utilities: good for all of us.” This applies to municipal electric and natural gas utilities. Judges will look particularly for originality and the relevance of the theme to the writer and his/her city.
- High school seniors are eligible. Those eligible must be or have as a legal guardian, a customer of the Thief River Falls Municipal Utility.
- Essays are to be original and from 500 to 750 words, typed and double-spaced.
- All essays should include a cover page, with the writer’s name and address.
- The Lincoln High School Counselors Office should have the same information.
- Deadline for submitting essays to the Thief River Falls Municipal Utility is early spring each year with specific dates updated closer to deadline.
Entries shall be submitted to the governing body of the municipal utility. (The local governing body may appoint a separate individual or group to judge entries.) The local governing body will send the winning essay to MMUA for entry into the statewide contest. The MMUA Communications/Member Services Committee will select the winners, with an announcement by mid-May.
An independent person or body may be designated to select the winner of the local essay. If there is an independent body selecting the winner and they do not know who wrote which essay, relatives of utility personnel are eligible to enter the contest.
Resource Materials
Your local utility is the best resource for information and printed materials. You may also want to visit the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association website and the American Public Power Association website or numerous other sites on the subject of public power.
Payment
Scholarship money will be payable upon receipt of fee statement copy from an accredited post-secondary educational institution. The award check will be made payable to the contest winner and the post-secondary institution. If the contest winner does not attend an accredited post-secondary educational institution within two years, the money will revert to a trust fund and become available to future contest winners.