By MALLORY GRUBEN
The Longview Kelso Building and Construction Trades Council on Aug. 7 awarded Kaylee Sellers and Mara Bridges with the Jeff Washburn Memorial Scholarship. Each received a $1,000 check.
Jeff Washburn was a dedicated advocate for unions in Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties. He died Sept. 8, 2020, and the building trades council started the scholarship to honor his efforts to better the lives of working people. The award supports the children or grandchildren of union members in unions that are affiliated with the building trades council.
Scholarship winners can use the money to cover tuition for post-secondary education, like college or trade school, or to pay for supplies they need for job training.
Bridges, daughter of IBEW Local 48 rep Mike Bridges, plans to enroll in an electrical apprenticeship. In her scholarship essay, she told the council that she plans to use some of the scholarship to buy work boots, study materials, and fuel to get to job sites.
Sellers, daughter of Laborers Local 335 business manager Justin Sellers, will complete courses at Lower Columbia College, with plans to transfer to Washington State University in Vancouver for a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Her scholarship will go toward tuition.
