And while we are on education and the importance of investing init, we should share some interesting local stats that crossed ourdesk this past week. We have long touted the efforts andvolunteerism of the Mississippi Scholars Program here in ourcommunity.

From what started out as a small endeavor in 2004 to recognize theefforts of a handful of area high school students, the localprogram morphed into a nationally recognized program. Those effortscan claim much of the credit for an exponential projectedgraduation rates by DemographicsNow.com, a company the compilesstatistics for economic development marketing activities.

According to the report, in 1990 there were 5,832 high schoolgraduates in Lincoln County. The projection for 2015 is 10,127 – a74 percent increase. While projected population growth will accountfor a portion of the jump, the local Mississippi Scholars Programand strong community support for local schools can be credited withthe rest.

Twenty-six graduates were recognized in the inaugural ceremony in2006, with $4,000 in scholarships awarded. This past year, 168 highschool seniors were honored and more than $106,000 in scholarshipmoney was given out to students.

The investment in time by the local leaders to build the localprogram has paid off for our community, and for years to come wewill all be better off for that investment.