5.5. ERMUSR 01-08-2013 Elk River .1::-.„---
III
Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO: FROM:
Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Troy Adams, P.E. —General Manager
John Dietz—Chair
Daryl Thompson—Vice Chair
Al Nadeau—Trustee
MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
January 8, 2013 5.5
SUBJECT:
2013 Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship
BACKGROUND:
Last year,the Utilities Commission expressed interest in ERMU participating in the Minnesota Municipal
Utilities Association(MMUA)Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship. The program guidelines have now
been released for the 2013. This award program is offered by MMUA to promote public power and
increase goodwill within public power communities. High school seniors that are a customer or have a
legal guardian that is a customer of a MMUA member municipal electric or gas utility would be eligible.
The scholarship is awarded to winning essays per the guidelines attached. Because ERMU is a MMUA
member, high school seniors that are ERMU customers or those who have a legal guardian that is an
ERMU customer would be eligible.
DISCUSSION:
This program is funded by MMUA but requires the local municipal utilities to provide some
administrative work to communicate with the schools and select/submit the local winner to MMUA.
Many of the participating utilities offer a matching scholarship. Staff recommends that ERMU provide a
$500 scholarship for the local winner submitted to MMUA. This award program matching scholarship
was unbudgeted. Staff has determined that this could be funded from the travel and training budget.
ACTION REQUESTED:
Staff recommends the Commission approve participation in the 2013 MMUA Tom Bovitz Memorial
Scholarship and provide a$500 ERMU Scholarship for the local winner submitted to MMUA.
ATTACHMENTS:
• MMUA letter to the Municipal Utility Manager
• MMUA letter to the High School Principal
• 2013 MMUA Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship Award Program Guidelines
• Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship Entry Form
11011111E1 11
Page 1 of 1 NATURE
Reliable Public
POWERED Power Provider T o S C R V E
.:n:v Vn
Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association
December 13, 2012
To: Municipal Utility Managers
From: Steve Downer
Re: Scholarship Program
MMUA has budgeted $5,000 for its Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship Award program.
This program was created as a public relations tool to increase the awareness of public power
and create goodwill in your city for your utility. Consider this paragraph from 2012 winner,
Courtney Wirtanen of Hibbing:
• "While there have been many changes in the utility industry since our local utility was
created, one thing has remained constant—its ability to provide a steady, reliable utility
service at competitive rates to the citizens and businesses of Hibbing."
Wouldn't you like to have high school seniors in your community writing papers like this? You
can, by bringing these materials to your local high school guidance office. Our fund is split into
various prizes and awarded to essay contest winners who plan to attend a post-secondary
educational institution.
Included here is a letter re-introducing this program to your local schools. We rely on you to
forward this information to all your local high schools - public and private. We have also
included scholarship program guidelines and an entry form for you to forward to the schools for
their use.
Here's how it works: The local governing body of the utility picks a local winner. Every
MMUA member may then enter the one local essay contest winner to the state contest. The
deadline for having utilities forward local winners to MMUA is April 19, 2013. Local deadlines
will need to be set earlier, to allow the local governing board time to review the entries. Many
members, with necessary local political support, award their own scholarships locally to
encourage participation. The MMUA Communications/Member Services Committee will select
the first, second, third and fourth place winners statewide. MMUA will announce the winners by
mid-May.
Your local utility is the best information resource. In the essays, we do look for the relevance of
the local utility to the writer's and the local community's well-being. We also recommend visits
to the American Public Power Association and the MMUA websites.
Please call if you have any questions or comments. Thank you for helping make this program a
success.
3025 Harbor Lane North•Suite 400• Plymouth,MN 55447-5142•763.551.1230•800.422.0119(MN)•Fax 763.551.0459•www.mmua.org
maim
Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association
December 13, 2012
To: High School Principals
From: Steve Downer
Re: Scholarship Program
This is to re-introduce the MMUA `Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship Award' program
sponsored by the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association. The scholarship fund totals $5,000.
It will be split four ways, and awarded to $2,000 first, $1,500 second, $1,000 third and $500
fourth place essay contest winners who plan to attend a post-secondary educational institution.
High school seniors are eligible to enter the essay contest. Essays are to be original and from 500
to 750 words,typed and double-spaced. Guidelines are attached.
The deadline for submitting essays to the local utility will likely be sometime in late March or
early April. Check with your local municipal utility for its deadline and reference to resource
materials. The local governing body of the utility (or its designee) will make the initial selection.
Every MMUA member may then enter one essay to the state contest. Entries are due to
MMUA by April 19,2013. The MMUA Communications/Member Services Committee will
select the winners. MMUA plans to announce the winners in May.
Scholarship money will be payable upon receipt of a copy of a fee statement 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.
Please call if you have any questions or concerns. On behalf of the MMUA, its board of
directors, and our member cities/utilities, I thank you for making this scholarship opportunity
known to your students and staff.
Attachments:
Program Guidelines
Entry Form
3025 Harbor Lane North• Suite 400• Plymouth,MN 55447-5142•763.551.1230•800.422.0119(MN)• Fax 763.551.0459•www.mmua.org
/ISILf
i11WI
Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association
2013 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 an MMUA-member municipal electric or gas 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.
• Deadline for submitting essays to MMUA is April 19,2013. 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 www.mmua.org and www.publicpower.org
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.
3025 Harbor Lane North •Suite 400•Plymouth, MN 55447-5142•763.551.1230•800.422.0119(MN)• Fax 763.551.0459•www.mmua.org
MMIft
Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association
Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship
Entry Form
Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA)
• Deadline to MMUA: April 19, 2013
• Deadline to local municipal utility: (check with utility).
• Amount: $2,000 first place $1,500 second $1,000 third $500 fourth place
Name: Telephone:
Address: City, State, Zip
Graduation date:
Parents' names:
Utility name:
Utility contact person:
Utility contact email:
Attach a 500 to 750 word,typed, double spaced essay on the theme"Municipal Utilities: Good
for All of Us." This applies to municipal electric and natural gas utilities.
This form should be used with all local winner submittals from the local municipal utility to
MMUA, and may be used by the school for entries to the local utility or decision-making entity.
Check with your local utility for local submission details. For more information, see scholarship
program `Guidelines.'
3025 Harbor Lane North•Suite 400•Plymouth, MN 55447-5142•763.551.1230•800.422.0119(MN)•Fax 763.551.0459•www.mmua.org