Pelco Structural, LLC will be honored with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education’s Economic Development Grant for the Regents Business Partnership Excellence Award, which highlights successful partnerships between higher education institutions and businesses.
The company was nominated for the award by Rogers State University, which has a longstanding partnership to increase educational opportunities for area students. The Regents’ Business Partnership Excellence Awards will be presented on March 11 at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.
“Pelco Structural has generously supported our students and our operations here at RSU,” said RSU President Dr. Larry Rice. “Their spirit of community giving stands as a remarkable testament to good corporate citizenship.”
Based in Claremore, Pelco is a national leader in custom pole products for the traffic control, utility, lighting and communication industries. The company, in just its ninth year of operation, already employs more than 180 employees who utilize state-of-the-art equipment to serve customers throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Pelco Structural President Phil Albert and his wife Jo have been honored as “Champions for Higher Education” by the RSU Foundation for their selfless support for RSU and its students. Their generosity has funded RSU student scholarships, enhanced campus facilities, and supported major university initiatives including RSU Public Television, the Bit by Bit Therapeutic Riding Center, and the President’s Leadership Program. In 2008, Pelco Structural provided light poles for the Diamond Sports Complex, RSU’s on-campus home for baseball and softball.
The company has created internships for area college students, while also being flexible with its employees to allow them to attend college and complete their degrees.
The Alberts have helped make it possible for area high school students to attend university events, including the annual Constitution Day Award that brings legal scholars to campus. Pelco Structural also recently adopted a Claremore elementary school, Catalayah Elementary, as a “Partner in Education.”
“Jo and I fully understand the power of education to transform lives, and each gift we give has one end result – improving the lives of our state’s greatest resource, its students,” Phil Albert said.
Institutions recognized as Business Partnership Excellence Awards honorees are provided $500 for tuition waivers to employees of the partnering businesses, internships for current students of the institutions to work at the partnering businesses, faculty externships with the partnering businesses and/or enhancement of the partnerships with additional equipment, materials or supplies. The State Regents provide a $500 match to the tuition waivers.
Past RSU partners to earn the honor include MidAmerica Industrial Park, the H.A. and Mary K. Chapman Charitable Trusts, Jane Phillips Medical Center, the City of Claremore, Grand River Dam Authority, ConocoPhillips, Claremore Regional Hospital, and Manufacturing Service and Innovation.