Metro News Release
For immediate release: August 9, 2007
Metro Memorial Scholarship Fund awards first two recipients
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) has awarded the first two recipients of the Metro Memorial Scholarship Fund, a trust established in January to honor Metro employees who have died in the line of duty.
Lillian Cherry, 19, and Martha Lee, 18, will each receive $5,000 awards to help with college expenses. Cherry will be attending the Art Institute of Washington to study culinary arts and Lee will be attending the George Washington University to study business, marketing and digital media.
“This is an important moment in our organization for being a part of the community, supporting education and growth, and being a part of your lives,” said Metro General Manager John Catoe. He told Cherry and Lee, “I’m happy to see people like yourselves moving ahead and thinking about your futures. While I’m honored to participate in this process, I am saddened for the reason the fund was set up.”
Lee’s father, Jong Won Lee, was an automatic train control technician who died after being struck by a train near the Dupont Circle Metrorail station on May 14, 2006. Mr. Lee’s death and the 2005 death of Metro track worker Michael Waldron prompted the creation of the scholarship fund.
Cherry’s father, Leslie Arvell Cherry, was a track inspector. He died after being struck by a train between the Huntington and Eisenhower Avenue Metrorail stations on Nov. 30, 2006.
Metro’s Board of Directors authorized the creation of the scholarship fund in 2006. Metro has asked its employees, labor unions and the public for donations to help sustain the fund. All contributions to the Metro Memorial Scholarship Fund are tax deductible. The transit authority selected the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that manages funds on behalf of organizations, to administer the scholarship fund. Checks should be made out to the Metro Memorial Scholarship Fund/CFNCR and mailed to Starlet Hunter, Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, 1201 15th St NW, Suite 420, Washington, DC 20005.
To qualify for the Metro Memorial Scholarship, an individual must have been financially dependent upon the Metro employee at the time of his/her death on the job. The individual also must be accepted to an accredited undergraduate educational institution that is authorized to receive federal student loan assistance, including four-year colleges, community colleges and some technical/trade schools. The scholarships are intended to assist students earning a bachelor’s or associates’ degree or equivalent with tuition, books, student fees or room and board.
Individuals who qualify for the scholarship will be awarded up to $5,000 a year, for a maximum of $25,000. A Board of Administrators reviews the applications.
“The Metro Memorial Scholarship Fund is a fitting tribute to the labors of Metro employees who have died while on the job and a meaningful way to support the families left behind,” Catoe said.
News release issued at 12:00 am, August 9, 2007.