Contact: Sharon Fisher
April 20th, 2009

Dominion donates $60,000 to MECC for scholarships

                Dominion Resources, Inc. announced a major investment in the education and training of Southwest Virginians at the Mountain Empire Community College Foundation Board meeting on April 16. 

                "As a new corporate citizen of Southwest Virginia, Dominion is proud to help deserving students obtain a college education that they might otherwise be unable to afford," said Mark D. Mitchell, Director of Fossil and Hydro Projects. Dominion is building the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, a 585-megawatt power station, at St. Paul in Wise County.

                One of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,000 megawatts of generation, 1.2 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas and oil reserves, 14,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline and 6,000 miles of electric transmission lines, Dominion operates the nation’s largest natural gas storage facility with 975 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 12 states.

         "Dominion maintains a substantial and diverse commitment to quality education," Mitchell said. "We believe that high-quality education is the key component of economic growth - this is especially true here in Wise County and the region."
         Accepting the donation on behalf of the Foundation was MECC President Terrance Suarez and Gary McCann, Chair of the MECC Foundation Board.  Suarez stated, “This is a source of encouragement for many local students who will need help to fund their education in the fall, and as an unrestricted scholarship it gives us greater flexibility to assist a diverse group of students.” 

                 "We expect this scholarship money will be multiplied many, many times over in Southwest Virginia as its student recipients employ their own skills, energy and dedication for the betterment of this region," Mitchell added. "I am pleased to provide this contribution to Mountain Empire Community College and to the college's Foundation Board."
                Potential and current MECC students can obtain information on how to apply for a scholarship by going to the MECC website, http://www.mecc.edu/scholarships/.
                For more information about Dominion, visit the company's site at http://www.dom.com/.

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