Kassidy Giles, a senior at South Choctaw Academy in Gilbertown has been selected as a recipient of a Georgia-Pacific Foundation Employees’ Children Scholarship.  She is the daughter of Jeremy and Jennifer Giles. Jeremy is a Crane Operator at the Pennington, AL Georgia-Pacific Naheola Mill.  Each year the company awards 50 scholarships to the children of employees across the country. 

“I am very pleased to help recognize the incredible academic achievements of two of our employee’s children this year as they receive the GP Scholarship.  It is a testament to many years of hard work and their dedication to excellence.  We are proud to help support them as they continue their journey into college,” said Ronnie Hall, vice-president of operations at the Naheola Mill.

The Georgia-Pacific Foundation Scholarship Program for Employees’ Children awards $2,000 per year for up to four years of full-time college undergraduate study or until baccalaureate degree requirements are completed, whichever occurs first, for a total maximum award of $8,000. 

Since the scholarship program began in 1988, Georgia-Pacific has awarded 1,500 scholarships totaling $12.2 million. The program is administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and is open to children of all active, full-time employees of Georgia-Pacific in the United States.  More than 300 applications were received for the 2017 scholarship program.

“Education has long been a cornerstone of our giving philosophy and awarding these scholarships to Georgia-Pacific families is particularly gratifying,” said Curley M. Dossman, Jr., president of the Georgia-Pacific Foundation. “We wish these students and future leaders continued academic success.”

Across the country, Georgia-Pacific supports a wide array of community-based educational programs that help transition students from school to the workforce with scholarships, job readiness training and technical programs.  Georgia-Pacific believes in helping people with the skills needed to succeed and move forward in today’s workplace.    

Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels, napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, office papers, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals. The company employs approximately 35,000 people directly and creates 92,000 jobs indirectly. Founded in 1958, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation has four key investment areas: education, community enrichment, environment, and entrepreneurship. For more information on the Georgia-Pacific Foundation, visit www.gp.com/gpfoundation.

(This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, May 17, print edition of the Demopolis Times.)