PRESS RELEASE:

Ashley Sharp Wins Coal Creek Watershed Foundation’s
2005 Nantglo Scholarship for $10,000
Former Briceville School graduate and honor student at Anderson County High School, Ashley Sharp, will receive the 2005 Nantglo Scholarship for $10,000 from the Coal Creek Watershed Foundation (CCWF).  Ashley volunteers as a member of the National Honor Society and participates in clean-up and restoration projects in Coal Creek.  The daughter of Michael and Margaret Sharp of Briceville, she also won an essay contest sponsored by CCWF on improving the quality of life in the watershed. 


Ashley Sharp


Ashley’s grandparents Faye Sharp
and the late Vestal (Togi) Sharp
of Briceville

 Ashley dedicated her essay to her late  grandfather, Vestal (Togi) Sharp.  He quit school when he was young to work in the coal mines.  Her grandmother, Faye Sharp, quit school after the third grade to stay home and take care of her siblings.  They were married for almost 60 years.  According to Ashley, “The most common careers in the old days in Coal Creek were coal mining, farming, and teaching.  Back then there was not a very large selection.  Residents on Coal Creek could not travel far from home to work.  You could say they did well for themselves, but they could have done better.  They could have stayed in school, went to college, and had promising careers.” 


Ashley Sharp (center standing) with
other Coal Creek Scholars and
friends during clean-up day

 Ashley plans to study accounting at Roane State Community College for two years and then complete her college education at the University of Tennessee.  “If I succeed, I will be the first person in my family to do so”, she says.

According to her essay, “My goal is to become a certified public accountant and own an accounting firm.  I want tourists to be able to come into Coal Creek and see my accounting firm and say this community is not as small as it looks.  I wish my grandfather could be here to see me achieve my goals, but I know he is looking down on me and smiling.  He knows that I am going to do something to help Coal Creek in a way that he did not have the ability to do.”


Ashley's certificate from
Senator Randy McNally for her
volunteer efforts in Coal Creek
(Click on image to enlarge)


Ashley with her parents Margaret and
Michael Sharp at Kindergarten
graduation at Briceville School

According to Barry Thacker, P.E., a professional engineer and founder of CCWF, “Coal Creek needs leaders.  Ashley is well on her way to filling an important role as a leader in the community and she joins a growing list of Coal Creek Scholars now in college.  What great role models they are for younger students.”


Click on image to enlarge

Ashley receives her
award and congratulations from Barry and Carol
at Anderson County High
School's Award Night

List of Nantglo Scholarship recipients
 2002:  Amy Dugger, Lincoln Memorial University
2003:  Casey Prosise, University of TN-Chattanooga
2004:  Ashley Weaver, Carson-Newman College
2005:  Ashley Sharp, Roane State Community College

Other CCWF scholarship recipients include Kristie Braden Hooks at Roane State Community College (2003), Frances Lee Braden at Lincoln Memorial University (2003), Michelle Lindsay at Lincoln Memorial University (2004), Andy Harness at Middle Tennessee State University (2004), and Rocky Bailey at Lincoln Memorial University (2004).

"Nantglo" is Welsh for Coal Creek.  The Nantglo Scholarship, named in honor of the Welsh coal miners who settled Coal Creek after the Civil War, is offered to graduates of Briceville Elementary School to assist them in attending college.  To earn the scholarship, students must participate in community service projects in the Coal Creek Watershed, win CCWF’s essay contest, and be a mentor to current Briceville students.  CCWF's goal is to give students the incentive to excel in middle school and high school, knowing that they have the potential to get a college education.

For more information, contact Carol Moore at (865) 584-0344 or clmoore@geoe.com.  Additional details can be found at www.coalcreekaml.com.

Read article in the Courier News

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