JAY — OTIS Federal Credit Union is pleased to announce that it has awarded five scholarships of $500 each to five local high school graduates.

Graduates who received scholarships are Bailey Coates, Brandon Coates, Riley Gray and Abigail Thurston, all from Spruce Mountain High School and Lauren Ferland from Dirigo High School.

The scholarship recipients submitted brief essays, along with a completed scholarship application; a letter of recommendation from a teacher or guidance counselor; and a copy of a letter of acceptance from a college, university, or technical school. To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants were required to be primary members of OTIS FCU, graduating high school seniors, been accepted to a post-secondary school, and beginning their higher education within one year of completing high school.

OTIS has maintained its scholarship program for area graduates since 2015.

OTIS Federal Credit Union was founded in April of 1954 by eleven local millworkers. Pooling their respective deposits of $5 each, they associated themselves as charter members of OTIS under the provision of the Federal Credit Union Act.  At a time in America when obtaining a loan was difficult for the average family, the founders of OTIS sought to form a cooperative, independent financial institution operated and controlled solely by its local membership.

Since its inception, OTIS has been committed not only to providing quality financial products and services to its shareholders, but to giving back to the community. Today, OTIS is a full-service financial center offering real estate, auto, and personal lending; online and mobile banking; a variety of checking, savings, and investment accounts; Visa debit and credit cards; financial planning; financial education; and much more. OTIS serves more than 11,000 members and holds over $183 million in assets, employing 32 people from Jay and the surrounding area. It is located at 170 Main Street in Jay. For more information, please visit www.otisfcu.coop or call (207) 897-0900.