Roanoke, Virginia – In celebration of National Safe Digging Month, Virginia 811 is kicking off a new scholarship program to award to two high school seniors who are planning to either major in and/or plan to pursue a career that aligns with the mission of Virginia 811 and will help contribute to underground utility damage prevention.
Virginia 811 embraces its role within damage prevention and the protection of underground utilities with a “passion to serve, and dedication to safety.” This is its mission, its core. Virginia 811 strives to provide exceptional service with a relentless pursuit of producing high quality, accurate, locate requests to protect life and property through its ensuring information is conveyed between those excavating in Virginia and the potentially affected utility members so that they can mark underground utilities to mitigate the risk of accidents at excavation sites occurring.
Virginia 811 plans to award two, one-year, $1,500 college scholarships to Virginia high school seniors who meet certain criteria including, but not limited to, a current GPA of 3.5 or higher; have at least one parent or legal guardian who works full or part time at a Virginia 811 Member Utility, works as a Utility Locator locating utilities in Virginia, or is a Professional Excavator who works in Virginia and whose company has successfully set up a Web Ticket Entry Account with Virginia 811; and plan to attend either an accredited community college, trade school, or a four year, college or university by the following fall after graduation.
A full list of eligibility requirements, along with instructions on how to submit their application can be found here.
“Virginia 811 is excited to be able to help successful candidates pursue further learning opportunities at the college level, explains Scott Crawford, President & CEO of Virginia 811. “Virginia 811’s ‘passion to serve, dedication to safety’ has facilitated its embracing a continuous improvement culture. Central to continuous improvement is continuous learning; through learning, both formal and informal, team members can identify new and better strategies to serve stakeholders and to help with the safety at excavation sites. In this spirit, Virginia 811 wants to serve the children of key stakeholders by helping them actualize their own continuous improvement through their continuing education.”
All applications must be received by 5pm Friday, June 4, 2021. Applications received after the due date or not submitted in its entirely will not be considered. Winners will be announced by a combination of phone, email, and written letter.
For further information on the scholarship program and criteria, please contact Steve Light, Head of Stakeholder Engagement, at Virginia 811 at slight@va811.com
About VA811
Virginia Utility Protection Service, commonly called Virginia811 is the not-for-profit organization created by Virginia’s utilities to protect their underground facilities. Find more information and safe digging practices at www.va811.com