Rotary Club meets on September 17 for weekly meeting
The Rotary Club met on their regular Thursday for their weekly meeting via Zoom.
This week’s guest speaker was Neil Wilson. Neil has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from West Virginia Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration from Morehead State University. He is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Kentucky and a life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He was employed at American Electric Power’s Big Sandy Plant until retirement in 2010.
Neil has been involved in a number of activities to help students in Lawrence County and established the Susan Wilson Memorial Scholarship, in honor of his late wife, for Lawrence County High School seniors who wish to attend Ashland Community and Technical College. Neil also serves on the Lawrence County Board of Health, the FIVCO Regional Development Board and the Lawrence County Extension Board as well as other organizations in the community.
The main subject Neil spoke about was the Susan Wilson Memorial Scholarship.
He said he wants students to go through their two years at ACTC with no loans. He works with Brook Caesar at ACTC and expressed how great she is to work with. They typically have about 25 applicants for the scholarship. This scholarship is a variable one whereas most are fixed amounts.
Neil doesn’t have any beforehand knowledge as to who has been selected for the scholarship and typically might find out the day before the Award Ceremony where he presents the certificate to those chosen. Wilson was asked if he was able to keep track of students progress who received the scholarships, and if they moved on to another school after their two years. “I don’t have the knowledge on those details due to privacy rules which are very important,” Wilson told Rotary members.
He was also asked about how much the cost was for each student. He stated that he sets aside about $2500 for each student and most of the time they don’t use it all. He said he will call and check the fund at times and is usually surprised there is still money in there. Of course, if a student gets KEYS money, that is applied first along with any other grants they may receive.
“I will pay expenses whatever is needed on a case by case basis. If a student needs gas, I will help pay for it,” Wilson said.
The Louisa Rotary meets each Thursday at the Cafe’ at Louisa First Baptist Church and community members are encouraged to attend and join the group.
Thank You for helping the students of Lawrence County. Susan would be proud.
Such a wonderful man! He does so much for our community