Golden, IL— Applications are due on February 24, 2012 for the 2012 Foundation for Rural Services (FRS) Scholarship program, available to our local students through a partnership between Adams Telephone Co-Operative and the FRS. This provides Adams Telephone member’s students an opportunity to apply for a $2,500 scholarship to any accredited college, university or vocational school. Adams has participated in this program since 2004, and since that time $11,000 in scholarship money has been awarded to students in our service area.

Applications are available from high school guidance counselors, or online at www.adams.net/frs. Eligibility requirements include that the household must receive telephone services from Adams Telephone Co-Operative. The scholarship also requires a signature from Adams Telephone Co-Operative prior to mailing to the FRS, and must be returned to Adams by February 24, 2012.

This program reflects Adams Telephone Co-Operative’s continual commitment to providing educational opportunities to our rural communities and for our rural youth. If you have any questions regarding the scholarship application, please contact Adams at (877) 696-4611 or visit www.adams.net/frs for the necessary forms.

Golden, IL - Four area high school sophomores or juniors will win an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., June 15-22, 2012, in an annual contest sponsored by Adams Electric Cooperative and Adams Telephone Co-Operative.

Interested students must complete a short answer application. After reviewing all applications, judges from each cooperative will select up to 34 applicants to represent the cooperatives at Illinois Electric and Telephone Youth Day in Springfield in the spring. Participants will visit the State Capitol, the old capitol building and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.

At the conclusion of Youth Day, judges from the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives will interview the applicants. Two winners will be selected for each cooperative for an 8-day all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. in June. One alternate will be named for each cooperative incase one of the winners is unable to attend.

The four winners of Youth Day will spend one week in Washington, D.C., visiting places of historical interest, as well as members of Congress, and getting a firsthand view of our government in action. Students will also learn more about the important role cooperatives play in our nation.

This year marks the 53rd year of the Youth to Washington program. Adams Electric Cooperative has been sending students to Washington, D.C. since 1959. Adams Telephone joined the program in 2004. Today, approximately 2,000 students from 42 cooperatives across the United States meet at our nation’s capital each summer. The 2012 Youth to Washington winners will be announced following Youth Day in Springfield.

For more information about the Youth to Washington program, contact Laura Dotson at Adams Electric Cooperative at (800) 232-4797 or Bridgette Northern at Adams Telephone Co-Operative at (877) 696-4611.

Golden, IL— Adams Telephone Co-Operative is pleased to announce the 2012 Foundation for Rural Services (FRS) Scholarship program, which provides our member’s students an opportunity to apply for a $2,500 scholarship to any accredited college, university or vocational school. Adams has participated in this program since 2004, and since that time $11,500 in scholarship money has been awarded to students in our service area.

Information packets have been sent to the high school guidance counselors within our service area and to school districts which may include portions of Adams Telephone Co-Operative’s membership. High school seniors are encouraged to contact their guidance counselor regarding this valuable opportunity and obtain the necessary forms. Eligibility requirements include that the household must receive telephone services from Adams Telephone Co-Operative. The scholarship also requires a signature from Adams Telephone Co-Operative prior to mailing to the FRS, and must be returned to Adams by February 24, 2012.

This program reflects Adams Telephone Co-Operative’s continual commitment to providing educational opportunities to our rural communities and for our rural youth. If you have any questions regarding the scholarship application, please contact Adams at (877) 696-4611 or visit www.adams.net/frs for the necessary forms.

Adams Telephone Co-Operative is pleased to announce that its fiber-to-the-home project, Adams FiberWorks is progressing on plan.  In this multi-phase, mutli-year project Adams is connecting all of their 13 telephone exchanges with the latest in high tech fiber optic technology and electronics.

Jim Broemmer, Chief Executive Officer, detailed the project in a recent meeting and explained the various components involved in the technology. Broemmer stated, “In phase one; which was completed at the end of 2010 we built-out the towns of Golden, Mendon, Ursa, and Lima. These customers are now receiving voice and data services via this state-of-the-art technology.  The second phase of construction for 2011 includes the remainder of the towns of Augusta, Chambersburg, Coatsburg, Fishhook, Hersman, LaPrairie, Loraine, Marcelline, Paloma and Plymouth. Our future phases will include the rural areas of all of our exchanges. Our goal is to eventually provide each and every Telephone Co-Operative member with a fiber connection.”

With phase two under way, Adams is hosting seven town hall meetings over the next two months to directly communicate to its Co-Operative members the sequence of events each member can expect with the delivery of the new fiber infrastructure to their homes and community.