Lighting the way to a brighter future

Hoosier Energy and its member cooperatives award a record number of scholarships

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Posted on Oct 03 2025 in A Co-op Perspective, Bartholomew County REMC, Clark County REMC, Daviess-Martin County REMC, Decatur County REMC, Dubois REC, Harrison REMC, Henry County REMC, Jackson County REMC, Orange County REMC, Southeastern Indiana REMC, Southern Indiana Power, WIN Energy REMC
Shane Able
Shane Able accepts his scholarship from Andy McComas, Institutional Director of the North American Lineman Training Center.

With the new school year well underway, students are taking advantage of scholarships offered by Hoosier Energy’s member cooperatives.

For the fourth consecutive year, the number of scholarships and the amount of scholarship money available from Hoosier Energy member cooperatives have reached a record high.

In 2025, 99 students received $101,000 in scholarships, surpassing last year’s 95 students and $95,000.

Many of these scholarships are funded through Operation Round Up, a program that allows members to voluntarily round up their monthly electric bills to the next dollar. The extra change is pooled together and used to support various charitable, educational, community, and youth-related programs or events.

An unknown opportunity

In addition, Hoosier Energy has awarded its latest Daniel L. Schuckman and W. Eugene Roberts Memorial Scholarship to a student at the North American Lineman Training Center (NALTC) in McEwen, Tennessee.

Shane Able graduated from NALTC in August with a future that he didn’t even know existed last year.

“I was driving a truck but didn’t see much of a future there,” he said. “I saw something about becoming a lineman on social media and looked up training schools nearby.”

NALTC caught his attention, and Able realized that, at the worst, he would come out with his CDL. Instead, four years after graduating high school in 2021, he found an excellent opportunity for the future.

“Before I started school, I didn’t know what a co-op was. I knew there was an REMC here in town, but didn’t know that it was a co-op,” said the Greensburg native. “After the first week of school, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do.”

After high school, Able drove a truck before taking a job with the street department in the town of Westport for eight months. He went back to driving a truck for a farm, but knew he needed a change.

“I just wanted to do something different every day,” he said. “And I love hanging my hat on being the best and trying every day to be the best I can. This industry will give me that challenge.”