From staff reports

Central Alabama Electric Cooperative assisted teachers, students and area schools by awarding $16,000 in grants to benefit more than 8,820 students in Central Alabama, through its Bright Ideas grant program.
CAEC’s Board of Trustees presented 17 of the 21 winning grants to area teachers during an evening ceremony and reception held this month at the cooperative’s headquarters in Prattville. Grant proposals had been evaluated by a panel of judges from local community associations.
Chilton County teachers receiving 2010 grants are: Marijean Ballard, Verbena High School; Lee Brown, LeCroy Career Technical Center; Judy Hale, Thorsby High School; and Jay LeCroy, Lanis Robinson and Wanda Chadwick, Isabella High School.
2010 Bright Ideas Grant recipients received their grant checks during a ceremony this January. CAEC funded $16,000 in grants to 21 teachers, including six from Chilton County.
The Bright Ideas Grant Program was introduced by CAEC in 1998 with the goal of supporting innovative, interesting and effective initiatives that are not usually covered by traditional school funding. Grants are intended to help enhance teachers’ efforts, and are awarded to individuals or teams in public, private and home schools within CAEC’s service area.
Funding from programs, such as the Bright Ideas grants, prove extremely valuable in today’s educational arena, when basic funding has been cut, leaving little or no financial support for new and creative educational projects from teachers.
“Many educators are finding it hard to cover the costs of basic supplies needed for their classrooms let alone imaginative projects that can have a lasting impact on our children,” said CAEC President and CEO Tom Stackhouse.
“We are honored to support these individuals who serve on the front lines molding our future leaders.”
To date, CAEC has awarded approximately $176,000 to local schools through the program. More than 75,000 students in all grade levels and subject areas have benefited from the Bright Ideas grants.