Lucasville, OH—The memory of Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative lineman Blake Rodgers will live on at the school where he began his training thanks to a scholarship established in his namesake.
The Community Foundation of Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives presented a $13,000
check to Scioto County Career Technical Center Tuesday, May 23, to advance the Blake Rodgers
Memorial Scholarship.
On December 23, 2022, Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative lineman Blake Rodgers lost his life
while restoring power during Winter Storm Elliott. In honor of Blake’s memory, the scholarship
will help pay tuition fees for students attending the power line mechanic program at the Scioto
County Career Technical Center in Lucasville, Ohio, where Rodgers attended.
Rodgers’ mother and stepfather, Brandie and Brandon Hale, attended the presentation, along with
representatives from Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives and Buckeye Rural Electric.
“Blake touched so many lives in one way or another. Through the scholarship fund, we intend to
keep Blake’s memory alive by continuing to help others, as Blake would have,” said Brandie Hale. She and her husband will also be donating high-voltage detectors to any scholarship recipient.
“The Community Foundation is honored to be able to provide financial resources in Blake
Rodgers name, to help future students obtain initial training as they begin to pursue a career in
a field that is so vital to all of us. Our lives and businesses depend on electricity every day and
linemen make it possible to receive this essential service,” said Doug Miller, Vice President,
Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives and The Community Foundation.
The funds donated by The Community Foundation of OEC were raised from the sale of Ohio
license plates honoring fallen lineworkers. Plates can be purchased when owners register their vehicles.
For information on how to donate to the Blake Rodgers scholarship fund, visit The Blake Rodgers Memorial Scholarship Facebook page.
