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______________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 1 of 2 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br /> <br />TO: <br />ERMU Commission <br />FROM: <br />Michelle Canterbury – Executive Administrative Manager <br />MEETING DATE: <br />May 11, 2021 <br />AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br />1.5 <br />SUBJECT: <br />Recognition of the ERMU and MMUA Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship Award Winner <br />ACTION REQUESTED: <br />Recognition of the ERMU and MMUA Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship Award Winner <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: <br />At the April 13, 2021 Commission Meeting, it was announced that High School Senior Karl <br />Pederson was selected as the local winner of ERMU’s $500 Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship <br />Award. His winning essay was forwarded to Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA) <br />judges for a chance to win an additional award through their statewide contest. <br /> <br />DISCUSSION: <br />The MMUA Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship Award winners were selected Tuesday, April 27. <br />Judges included five MMUA member utility representatives and one MMUA staff member. <br />Judges ranked their top four essays, point values were assigned and following winners were <br />selected: <br /> <br />• First Place: Geoffrey Skeim, Princeton <br />• Second Place: Karl Pederson, Elk River <br />• Third Place: Derek Brown, Rochester <br />• Fourth Place: McKenna Thompson, Sauk Centre <br /> <br />The first-place scholarship carries an award of $2,000, second place $1,500, third place $1,000 <br />and fourth place $500. <br /> <br />The award is named in honor of the late Tom Bovitz, a firm believer in the value of education, <br />who was a former general manager of Hibbing Public Utilities and MMUA president. MMUA, <br />headquartered in Plymouth, represents the interests of the state’s 124 municipally-owned <br />electric and 33 municipally-owned gas utilities. <br /> <br />Steve Downer, MMUA Director of Communications & Member Services, will be attending the <br />May 11 Commission meeting virtually to present Karl Pederson with his certificate of <br />achievement for placing second in the 2021 MMUA Tom Bovitz Memorial Scholarship Contest. <br />The ERMU Commission will also have the opportunity to formally recognize Karl for winning <br />both the ERMU and MMUA scholarship award. <br />4