Area high school seniors whose parents are telephone service subscribers of SkyLine Membership Corporation and SkyBest Communications may apply for the 2010 Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) Scholarship.  

FRS was established in 1994 by the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), of which SkyLine is a member.  The FRS promotes, educates and advocates rural telecom issues in order to sustain and enhance the quality of life within communities throughout rural America.  Through its various programs and initiatives, the foundation strongly supports the continuing education of rural youth.

This year, a total of 30 one-time, $2,500 scholarships will be awarded to rural high school seniors:  one per geographic region of the NTCA membership and one to a student sponsored by a NTCA associate member.  The remaining 19 awards will be distributed proportionate to the number of applications received per region.  FRS will fund $2,000 of each scholarship, with the sponsoring cooperative of each winning student providing a $500 match.

According to the FRS, more than two-thirds of rural Americans with postsecondary degrees never return to their rural communities, so this program gives particular emphasis to those students who plan to return to their community following college.  Other eligibility requirements include the following:

• Applicants must be children of SkyLine members or SkyBest customers who subscribe to either company’s telephone services.
• Applicants must be graduating from high school this year.
• Applicants must have at least a “C” grade-point-average (GPA).  FRS scholarships will be awarded to deserving students whose academic credentials fall within an average to above-average range.
• Applicants must be accepted to an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school.
• Applicants must express an interest to return to a rural community following graduation.
• Applications must be sponsored by SkyLine, an NTCA-member company.

Application packets are available at all area high school guidance departments and at SkyLine Customer Service Centers in West Jefferson, Seven Devils and Sparta.  Scholarship information and application forms also may be accessed through SkyLine’s Web site (www.skyline.org).  Completed applications must be submitted to SkyLine’s corporate offices by Wednesday, February 17. All applicants must be sponsored by SkyLine, and completed applications received by this deadline will be endorsed and submitted to the FRS for consideration by the March 1 postmark deadline.

If any SkyLine-sponsored students are named winners, they will be announced in May.

For more information about the FRS Scholarship, please contact Karen Powell, SkyLine Public Relations Director, at SkyLine’s corporate offices at (800) 759-2226.