NETRMA awards safe driving scholarships to 10 East Texas students
Tyler Police Department deploys extra officers for Memorial Day weekend
The $2,000 Linda Thomas Safe Driving Scholarships were awarded to the following students based upon their safe-driving themed essays and their extracurricular achievements:
Gregg County
Carolyn Purdum – Longview High School
Omika Patel – Longview High School
Joe Ray – Sabine High School
Smith County
Sydney Hines – Lindale High School
Parker Pierce – Bullard High School
Wood County
Daniel Kernes – Quitman High School
Emilee Reed – Winnsboro High School
Cass County
Vincent Wong – Queen City High School
Kaufman County
MaKennah Duncan – Forney High School
Bowie County
Tristan Carter – Pleasant Grove High School
'The Linda Thomas Safe Driving Scholarship Program showcases the very best Northeast Texas has to offer,' NETRMA community relations chair Andrea Williams McCoy said. 'We are honored to play a small part in these exceptional students' educational journeys and look forward to following their successes through college, trade school and beyond.'
The scholarship helps students understand and practice safe driving. Sydney Hines from Lindale even produced a short documentary called 'Just Five Beers' about the dangers of drunk driving and a woman named Cindy, whose daughter and mother died in a drunk driving crash in 1970.
'Winning this scholarship allows more people to see the film and to hear Cindy's story,' Hines said. 'Hopefully it encourages more people to make the right choices and to understand that drinking and driving is not ok, it will never be ok, and there are people out there who are affected by it every single day.'
To learn more or to read all of the winners' essays, visit NETRMA online.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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