“We are proud of this year’s distinguished honoree; Ms. Hillman was presented with a $1,000 check at the Columbia County Board of Education meeting on Oct. 23,” said Judi Wilson, chair of the Department of Teacher Education.

Allison Hillman, a recent graduate of Augusta State University, was among 44 of Georgia’s best and brightest new teachers to receive the New Teacher Assistance Grant from Georgia Power. Hillman teaches first grade at Cedar Ridge Elementary.

“We are proud of this year’s distinguished honoree; Ms. Hillman was presented with a $1,000 check at the Columbia County Board of Education meeting on Oct. 23,” said Judi Wilson, chair of the Department of Teacher Education.

Teacher nominations were submitted to Georgia Power by the 22 Georgia public colleges and universities that have a school of education. To be eligible for the grant, candidates had to be in the top 25 percent of their class academically, be a first-year teacher employed by a public school in Georgia, and demonstrate a high aptitude for teaching.

Each year since 2004, Georgia Power has awarded the $1,000 grants to help encourage new teachers to stay in the profession and to provide them with much-needed funds to purchase classroom supplies, equipment, or materials not provided by their schools.

Hillman will be able to use the grant to purchase items such as books, educational materials, computers, and other supplies.

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility with rates well below the national average. Georgia Power serves 2.4 million customers in all but four of Georgia’s 159 counties.