Southeast Gas recently honored its 2017 Community Service Scholarship recipients at a luncheon banquet in Troy. Nineteen students were recognized for their outstanding commitment to the communities in which they live, and will each receive a $1,500 scholarship to the university, college or technical school of their choice.

This year’s recipients are: Taylor Adams, Carroll High School; Loni Blatz, Straughn High School; Addyson Bryan, Charles Henderson High School; Kaitlyn Chestnut, Headland High School; Zoo Cooley, Pleasant Home School; Kyle Elliott, Highland Home High School; Mya Harris, Luverne High School; Lauren Holland, Eufaula High School; Ninti Jackson, Pike County High School; Kelsey Kelley, Elba High School; Lindsay Nichols, Greenville High School; Ben Parker, Andalusia High School; Ashlynn Rayborn, Brantley High School; Cassidy Renfroe, Russell County High School; Kate-Lynn Smith, Abbeville High School; Lizbeth Soto-Jacome, Enterprise High School; Marianne Vigor, Red Level High School; Treleigh Weeks, Opp High School and Savannah Williams, New Brockton High School.

“Southeast Alabama Gas District is a company that was founded to strengthen our local communities,” said Greg Henderson, Southeast Gas President and CEO. “Our community service scholarship gives Southeast Gas a chance to invest in future leaders from our communities who are already making a difference today.”

The Southeast Gas Community Service Scholarship is a competitive scholarship available to high school seniors who serve their communities with a sincere intent of making the world a better place. This year’s recipients have served in a variety of ways, including serving orphans in the Ukraine, singing and playing instruments for Alzheimer’s patients, translating for patients in a cancer center, collecting and distributing food items for the under resourced and coaching youth sports. Regardless of whether these recipients impacted one person or thousands of  people, the underlying message in their essays was captured by Kelsey Kelley from Elba High School, “Through community service I have learned that even the help of one person can make a huge difference in the world around us. I have gained happiness in knowing that the small part I am doing is going to be beneficial to the people around me.”

The Community Service Scholarship program is part of Southeast Gas’ overall commitment to serve area schools through its Give Back to Schools initiative. Over the past eight years, Southeast Gas has returned more than $1,000,000 to public schools in the company’s service delivery area.