Co-op Cast Away Connection

If you are one of the millions who have seen Cast
Away, the movie starring Tom Hanks, you may not have known that a Kentucky
electric cooperative played a role in the film.

In an opening scene, posters of frogs and flowers adorn an office
wall.

Those posters might be
familiar to thousands of elementary school children in Kentucky,
because they were produced by East Kentucky Power Co-op in
Winchester, specifically by Jeff Hohman, the generation and
transmission co-op’s natural resources and environmental
communications manager.

The flora and fauna are
indigenous to East Kentucky’s service area, similar to ones he
takes to thousands of presentations each year for elementary and
junior high school children, where he discusses Kentucky wildlife
and East Kentucky’s role in preserving and protecting these
species.

Word of the posters
reached the producers of the movie, whose set designer called the
co-op to request permission to use them in the filming.

East Kentucky generates and transmits electricity
to 17 local electric cooperatives in the eastern part of the state.

Teacher education aid

Students interested in
becoming teachers can get financial aid for higher education
through the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority Teacher
Scholarship Program. Freshmen and sophomores can receive up to
$625 for each semester. Students above the sophomore level can
receive up to $2,500 for each semester. The aid can be used at any
college or university in Kentucky.

Students must file by
May 1 to apply for a scholarship for the 2001-2002 academic year.
For more information, visit www.kheaa.com;
write to KHEAA, 1050 US Highway 127 S, Frankfort, KY 40601-4323;
call (800) 928-8926 extension 7392, or e-mail ppolly@kheaa.com.