VALLEY — The Chambers County Education Retirees Association is awarding three scholarships to local high school seniors. The presentations took place at the Cotton Duck on Friday, May 11.

This year’s recipients are Tavieshia Davis of Lanett High, who plans to attend Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM), majoring in elementary education; Ziontavian Turner of LaFayette High who will be attending Point University, majoring in education, and Alexis Walls of Valley High, who will start her college education at Southern Union State Community College and then transfer to Auburn University. She will major in education.

It is a major goal of the CCERA to provide scholarships to local seniors who plan to be classroom teachers.

The CCERA is the local chapter of the Alabama Education Retirees Association, Inc. (AERA), which is open to anyone who receives retirement benefits from the Teachers’ Retirement System of Alabama. Currently, AERA has more than 25,000 members.

AERA is the retired division of the Alabama Education Association (AEA). AERA is made up of 81 local units, including 11 higher education units. Its membership includes retired administrators, teachers and support personnel. The organization has a very strong lobbying effort at the state capitol, seeking to ensure that the state’s education retirees get fair treatment from the state legislature.

Wanda Huguley is the current president of the CCERA and CCERA member Katie Walton is the District V director.

The AERA encourages local chapters to provide scholarship money each year to local high school graduates who are interested in pursuing careers as educators. AERA offers scholarships to active AEA members, helping them to further their post-graduate study.

“We are so pleased we were able to present these scholarships to these local high school graduates,” said CCERA President Wanda Huguley. “We are pleased that they are looking to careers in education. We wish them well.”