Georgia Federal Credit Union, Duluth, Ga., announced the recipients of the 14th annual Vernon E. Carne scholarship. A total of $10,000 in scholarships is awarded to 11 high school seniors in honor of the founder of Georgia FCU. The selection criterion includes individual essays on how teens can personally benefit and achieve their goals by participating in credit union membership, academic achievement and community involvement. The first place $3,000 scholarship recipient was Winnie Markey who attends Forsyth Central High School. Markey was accepted to Polytechnic University where she plans to major in architecture.

GFA Federal Credit Union, Gardner, Mass., awarded its first annual David Jacques Memorial Scholarship to Jenna LeMieux of Phillipston, Mass. LeMieux is a senior at Gardner High School and will be pursuing a degree in nursing. The award will be given annually to a local high school senior who embodies the cooperative and community ideals held by David Jacques. Jacques is a long-time adviser to GFA and served as a board member for over 25 years and also served as chairman of the board. Funds for the scholarship were raised through GFA's annual community and member appreciation day as well as other community events and employee donations.

Charter Oak Federal Credit Union, Groton, Conn., announced its 2008 Scholarship winners at its 69th annual meeting. The first set of scholarships were presented to the recipients of the Charter Oak Federal Credit Union scholarship. The scholarship awards $2,000 to each recipient. The winners were: Weijing Liu, Ashley Welch, Taylor Lynch, Curtis Tripp and Jessica Marie Malboeuf. Charter Oak also awarded two scholarships that were in memory of two employees. The Louise Jackson community outreach scholarship was awarded to Shaniqua Walton. The LuAnn Dugas memorial scholarship was awarded to Dugas' son Charles Dugas and was presented by her husband Tom Dugas. Charter Oak received over 150 applications from various local high schools.

El Paso Employees Federal Credit Union, El Paso, Texas, awarded a total of $211,000 in scholarships to high school seniors and undergraduate students. At its annual meeting El Paso awarded $20,000 in scholarships to eight high school seniors and six undergraduate students. Adrian Miranda from Silva Magnet High School and Annai Escobedo from Clint High School received $4,000 scholarships. High school graduates Cody Logsdon, Sonia Bernal, Jesus Madrid, Annette Valdiviezo, Ymaliz Hernandez and Jeanette Sanchez each received $1,000 scholarships. Undergraduate students Rebecca Arellano, Justine Logsdon, Ernesto Gutierrez, Jose Landeros, Veronica Hernandez and Mauricio Lara each received $1,000 scholarships toward completing their degrees.

Arsenal Credit Union, St. Louis, awarded scholarships to four college-bound students. Meghan Lenhardt, Michelle McAtee, Colleen Carter and Amanda Hancock. Each were awarded a scholarship based on academic achievements, extracurricular activities and community involvement. Lenhardt received a $1,000 scholarship and will attend Missouri State University to pursue biology. McAtee received a $1,000 scholarship and will attend Truman State University to study history. Carter received a $500 scholarship and will attend the University of Missouri-Columbia to pursue a degree in biology and pre-med. Hancock received a $500 scholarship and will attend the University of Arkansas to study economics and finance.

DuPont Fibers Federal Credit Union, Richmond, Va., awarded two $2,500 Ruby A. Robinson scholarships. The two recipients are Katherine Kraft and Tom Fisher. Kraft attends Henrico High School and will be attending the University of Virginia, where she will study international business. Fisher attends the Maggie L. Walker Governor's School and will be attending the College of William and Mary where he will study economics. The Ruby A. Robinson scholarship is designed to commemorate the 30 years Robinson dedicated to the credit union as one of its first employees. DuPont Fibers has awarded a total of $109,000 since the program started in 1993.

Desert Schools Federal Credit Union, Phoenix, awarded its grand prize 2008 community scholarship award to Kayleena Tejada, a home-schooled student. Tejada received $10,000 and is the first home-schooled student winner in history of the scholarship program. The program started four years ago and each year offers scholarships to students in Maricopa, Pinal and Gila counties. Tejada was awarded the grand prize based on her scholastic achievements and work in serving her community through Athletes in Action, public youth education programs, city clean-up programs and homeless food service programs. Scholarship applicants were asked to complete 100 or more hours of community service between June 2007 and February 2008 in addition to achieving scholastic excellence and being a member of Desert Schools for at least six months. A total of $20,000 was awarded to seven local students. Other scholarship recipients include: Erin O'Brien, $5,000, from Mesa High School; Jennifer Herrera, $1,000, Gateway Early College High; Justin Yeh, $1,000; Mesquite High School; Kristin Simione, $1,000, Foothills Academy College Preparatory; Ranique Rodriguez, $1,000, Marcos de Niza High; Tara Johnson, $1,000, Higley High.