$102,500 in Scholarships is Awarded at the Union Hall; First Goble Scholarship Winner Announced

photo: Members of Garrett Goble's family stand with the first recipient of the Garrett Goble Scholarship, Jake Burns and his father, Train Operator George Burns.

AUGUST 2 -- Fifty-Eight lucky scholarship winners, with parents and other family members, thronged the Union Hall today to pick up scholarship award envelopes worth $102,500. The annual scholarship program is endowed by M3 Technology, which provides life insurance and disability benefits to Union members on a voluntary basis.

The scholarship program has grown each year in increments of $25,000, with two winners receiving $10,000 each, six getting $5,000, and Fifty getting $1,000 each. Scholarship winners are predominantly college-bound children of Local 100 members, but can also be spouses of members or children or grandchildren of retirees.

For the first time, a scholarship named after fallen Train Operator Garrett Goble in the amount of $2,500 was also awarded this year. The winner, Jake Burns, a Yale-bound High Schooler, is the son of Train Operator George Burns. His name was selected in a blind drawing by Garrett Goble's son, Noah, earlier this year.

President Tony Utano, speaking at today's event, said that the Union is looking to raise the amount of the awards given each year in order to make a meaningful contribution to the high cost of attending college. The scholarship program is coordinated by Assistant to the President Shannon Poland.

See the highlights of the awards here.