Blue Ridge Paper Products has established an ongoing scholarship for students enrolled in the new Pulp and Paper Technology degree program at Haywood Community College (HCC). The Blue Ridge Paper Products Pulp and Paper Technology Scholarship will cover tuition, fees and books up to $1,000 per semester for as many as five semesters. It will be awarded annually starting in the 2005/2006 academic year, and after the first year there will be two recipients concurrently.

Blue Ridge Paper Products Human Resources Manager Jim Froehlich said the company’s investment in education is a wise one.

“It’s critically important that we have an academically prepared workforce to compete on an international playing field. The Blue Ridge Paper Products Pulp and Paper Technology Scholarship is a step in that direction and recognition of the vital educational role that Haywood Community College plays in the region,” Froehlich said.

The scholarship is a need-based award for full-time, degree-seeking day students. Recipients must be from Western North Carolina and Blue Ridge Paper Products employees will be given preference.

“We at Haywood Community College are very pleased that Blue Ridge Paper Products has established this generous scholarship for the newly established Pulp and Paper Technology program. This is a wonderful partnership between our community college and local industry. We are excited about providing the educational opportunities to help the company’s workforce compete in this global market,” said Douglas Staiger, chairman of the Division of Natural Resources at HCC.

The application deadline for the first scholarship award is July 30; interested students should contact Matt DeLozier, HCC Assistant Coordinator of Financial Aid, at 828.627.4756.

Headquartered in Canton, Blue Ridge Paper Products Inc. is a leading producer of envelope and specialty papers and coated bleached board for food service packaging. It has six plants in five states, including its Canton mill, an extrusion coating plant in Waynesville and four DairyPak converting plants in Athens, Ga., Clinton, Iowa, Olmsted Falls, Ohio, and Richmond, Va. Blue Ridge Paper Products is owned by KPS Special Situations Fund, L.P., and by the employees of Blue Ridge Paper through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). For more information visit www.blueridgepaper.com.