Group seeks funding
to continue electrification program
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Members of the Maine Association of Agricultural Educators are hoping to salvage the MPS Electrification Scholarship Program.
According to Tom Hale, president of the MAAE, the organization recently decided to write a grant to leverage funding to pay for the program.
“What we are attempting to do is ask Maine Public Service and its parent company, Emera, Inc, — through its charitable giving donation — to help fund a replacement for the old MPS Electrification Scholarship contest,” said Hale. “That will be our first step. We took information on what we would think we would need to still hold that type of event and we’re asking them to see if they would help fund it.”
Hale said he was notified late last year by Nancy Chandler, MPS educator, that the program would cease after more than 60 years.
“Maine Public Service had a person [Chandler] who would go around to the various FFA chapters and provide training, and part of the training was they would produce an educational book which became the actual reference for a contest,” said Hale. “The contest was usually held in April at Northern Maine Community College. The chapters would get together at the electrical shop and the kids would do a written test, followed by an actual wiring exam, and then an overall winner was chosen and that student received a $1,000 scholarship and the second-place student received a $500 scholarship.
“I was informed by Nancy [Chandler] that MPS’ education department had ceased to exist and they weren’t doing that anymore,” he said. “Nancy was a veteran of this program and we’ll miss her involvement. Now the MAAE will have to pick up the slack and somehow make this go forward. Her loss will be felt at the local level for sure. It’s going to be different, but we realize that the company is moving in a different direction.”
The MAAE met Feb. 12 to discuss how to proceed with the program.
“We didn’t really talk about a number as to how much we would like to receive,” said Hale, “because we’re not sure of the range of projects they might fund. We don’t have a target figure yet, but we came out of the meeting feeling pretty optimistic. Ideally we would like to expand the program to include all of the area that is serviced by Bangor Hydro and Maine Public Service, which would allow more students to participate in the program.
“Right now we have folks looking into the specifics of the company’s charitable giving program,” he said, “and then we’ll meet again to discuss how best to proceed.”
There are six FFA chapters in Aroostook County; however, some schools have both a middle school and a high school chapter. Participating schools include Ashland, Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle, Mars Hill and Easton.
