Community College Scholarship Application

Welcome to the Pioneer Connect Community College Scholarship. This is one of two scholarship programs currently offered by Pioneer. The other is the Pioneer Connect Academic Scholarship. A person can apply for the Community College Scholarship or the Academic Scholarship but cannot apply for both scholarships in the same year. Follow this link (Academic Scholarship) for information concerning the Academic Scholarship.

The Community College Scholarship is an online submission only.

Application must be submitted no later than March 31, 2019 by 4:30pm.

IMPORTANT: There is no time limit to the application process. However, the application will not be saved along the way. Be sure to have enough time to finish it or you will have to start back at the beginning.

Incomplete applications will not be considered for scholarship award.

The applicant must be a member or an immediate relative of someone who is a participating member of Pioneer Connect. The applicant’s primary place of residence must be located within territory served by Pioneer Connect. The immediate relative may be a spouse, son, or daughter.

The applicant must also:

• have a minimum 2.5 GPA
• submit the online application showing:
— extracurricular activities, accomplishments, recognition received, hobbies, and jobs held
— career and educational goals
— provide legible copies of all high school and college or technical school transcripts
— take the “open book” quiz
• be currently enrolled or applying for admission to Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC), Oregon Coast Community College (OCCC), or Lane Community College (LCC) for the following degrees:
— Associate of Arts
— Associate of Science
— Associate of Applied Science
— One-year certification

The completed application and all supporting documentation must be submitted/received at the headquarters office of Pioneer Connect no later than 4:30 p.m. on March 31, 2019.

Incomplete applications will not be considered for scholarship award.

Pioneer Connect is a cooperative corporation formed under the provisions of Oregon Revised Statute 62 (ORS 62) for the purpose of engaging in any lawful activity for which cooperatives may be organized under ORS 62. Cooperatives have a long history.

In Scotland in March of 1761, 16 weavers and apprentice weavers came together to sign a charter in which they agreed to work together to set purchase prices for yarns, selling prices for cloth and to deal fairly and honestly in their work forming the Fenwick Weavers’ Society – the earliest cooperative for which we have full records. They also set up a fund that they lent back to members to purchase high cost items, and from which they gave charitable donations to the poor in the village. Some have seen this as a proto-credit union.

Later that decade, in 1769, they agreed to take funds from their “box” to purchase “victuals” which they sold from a central point in the village, the profits going back into their joint funds. This has been seen as a very early co-op store.

In 1844, the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers was formed in Rochdale, England. It is considered the founding association of the modern cooperative movement. The society was formed under the cooperative principles of: 1. Voluntary and Open Membership, 2. Democratic Member Control, 3. Member Economic Participation, 4. Autonomy and Independence, 5. Education, Training, and Information, 6. Cooperation among Cooperatives, 7. Concern for the Community.

Many members from the communities in the Coast Range Mountains of western Oregon attempted to get someone to supply them with telephone service. They were told it could not be a profitable business. They decided to organize a cooperative and take full responsibility of building a modern telephone system for themselves.

Pioneer Telephone Cooperative was incorporated on October of 1950. In March 1951, Senator Wayne Morse sent a telegram saying the Cooperative had received an REA loan to build a modern telephone system. The Coast Telephone Company was purchased from the Baker family and it became the backbone for building out service into remote areas. Later in 1951, the Blachly-Deadwood Telephone Company became part of the system and in 1956 the Bellfountain Telephone Company merged into the Cooperative.

Today, the Cooperative is evolving from a telephone company to a broadband company. With many miles of fiber-optic cable, the intelligent network is becoming a reality.

I certify that the information provided is correct and true to the best of my knowledge.