Ralph and Mary Gates Memorial Scholarship

Ralph Gates was born August 21, 1916 in his family’s farm house near Papillion, Nebraska.  He was an Army veteran of World War II and a member of the VFW and American Legion.  He met the love of his life, Mary Flanagan who was born January 5, 1921 in Omaha, Nebraska.  They were married November 24, 1945 and spent 60 wonderful years together.  Both passed away in 2006.

They raised a large family - 4 boys, 1 daughter and a nephew.  Ralph worked as a compressor operator for Northern Natural Gas Company and Mary as a secretary/bookkeeper for a CPA firm. She later worked as an Office Manager for Meade Flying Service. Both worked extra jobs whenever needed to make ends meet and to provide a better life for their children.

Ralph and Mary taught their family the important things in life by the way they lived.  It was a simple life, based on faith, honesty, respect, patience, kindness, caring, sharing, and loving.  They instilled in their children that you get out of life what you put into it.  But Ralph and Mary left them with the most precious gift of all, family. Left behind with that gift are priceless memories to treasure and share with others.

The Gates Family would like to extend a special thanks to the employees of SEC.  After Mary’s funeral, they raised $1,650.00 and donated it in memory of her.  The thoughtfulness and consideration they showed prompted us to establish a scholarship fund to benefit SEC employees and their families.

Ralph and Mary always promoted higher education, and they would be proud to know they are helping their extended family open doors to a better future.

You can access the Application and Guidelines by clicking on the link in the right hand column.

INSTRUCTIONS

Important Facts:

• Application deadline:  March 13, 2009
• Scholarship is a one time non-renewable award.
• Scholarship award will be a minimum of $1,000 ($500 per semester)
• Scholarship can be used to pay for tuition, fees and books.
• Applications are available in the Human Resources Department at the SEC Energy Products and Services, L.P. 

Eligibility

• Applicant is an employee or a child of a current employee of SEC Energy Products and Services, L.P.
• Current employee is defined as full-time with a minimum of 12 months of employment by the application deadline (March 13, 2009).
• Child of the employee must be a graduating high school senior or equivalent attending college or an accredited school (i.e. trade school or technical school) for the first time.
• Recipient may attend either a 2 year or 4 year college, university or accredited trade school but must be planning to enroll as a full-time student.
• Applicant has maintained a grade point average of 2.5 or better on a 4.0 scale on their high school studies.