Fifteen area teachers were recently surprised when Santee Electric Cooperative employees showed up at their schools with up to $1,000 each in grant money. The money came from a cooperative grant program called 'Bright Ideas,' which allows teachers to compete for funding outside of often limited school district resources.

Santee Electric Cooperative employees, armed with balloons, flowers, goody bags and 'big checks,' visited Kingstree Senior High School, WM Anderson Primary School, Kenneth Gardner Elementary, DP Cooper Elementary School, Williamsburg Academy, C.E. Murray Middle School, Andrews Elementary School, Georgetown High School Plantersville Elementary School, Hemingway Elementary School and Johnsonville Middle School in the 'Prize Patrol' van to surprise the 2014 Bright Ideas winners. Many surprised teachers and students were thrilled when the doors of their classroom opened and a co-op representative announced they were winners!

Missie McCutchen, Rebecca Cox, Felicia Patrick, Derrike Black, Eric Ziemba, Charmaine Elmore, Verbiatene Weaver, Latetia Staggers, Lauriell Royster, Robin Grubb, Jamie Nunnery, Shelby Martin, Kaitlyn Anderson, Anthony Pressley, Latavia Brown, Latoya Nelson, Anthony Pressley, Ronald Moore, Urica Brown, Ruthy Filchak, Amelia Marsh, Mary Montgomery, Kelly Kennedy, Denise Owens and Mirandi Squires are bright, excited educators who come up with numerous ways to utilize these funds to teach their students.

'The idea behind Bright Ideas,' according to SEC's President and CEO Floyd Keels, 'is to empower good teachers and to provide support outside of normal school funding for deserving classroom projects that need extra assistance.'

In all, $13,934.32 was awarded to schools in Williamsburg, Georgetown, Clarendon and Florence counties. All certified classroom educators were eligible to apply if they taught in grades kindergarten through twelve in the co-op's 4-county service area. Teachers were awarded grant money if they could prove in an application that they had an innovative idea for a classroom project. Each school was eligible to submit more than one application, but individual teachers were limited to one application per school year.

Santee Electric Cooperative adopted this grant project from the North Carolina Electric Cooperatives and Palmetto Electric Cooperative.

Go to www.facebook.com/santeeelectric to see pictures of the winners.