Twelve area high school seniors have been named recipients of the 2007 Frank James - SkyLine Scholarship. These scholarships honor the memory of longtime director and former SkyLine President Frank James and are awarded to children of SkyLine members who reside in the cooperative's five-county service area. The awards were announced at area high schools' Awards Day programs, and will be officially presented to the students at SkyLine's Annual Meeting in early October.

Annually, SkyLine awards $1,000 scholarships, renewable for up to four years, to students pursuing a four-year college degree and $500 scholarships, renewable for up to two years, to students pursuing a community/technical college degree or vocational program.

Alleghany County recipients are: Lindsay Ashley, daughter Chris and Karen Ashley of Laurel Springs, who plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Michelle Henson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jackie Henson of Sparta, who plans to attend N.C. State University; and Jessica Miles and Monica Miles, daughters of Gary and Janie Miles of Sparta. Both Jessica and Monica plan to attend Surry Community College.

Ashe County recipients are: Chris Lyall, son of Jean-Claude Lyall of Fleetwood and Sherrie Ashley of Jefferson, who plans to attend Appalachian State University; and Nicole Rose, granddaughter of David and Janet Blevins of Crumpler, who plans to attend Wilkes Community College.

The Avery County recipients are: Samantha Jones, daughter of Bruce and Eva Jones of Beech Mountain, who plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Wilmington; and Brett Shomaker Shomaker, son of Judy Laws Shomaker of Banner Elk, who plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Watauga County recipients are Matt Bolick, son of Charles Bolick and Cynthia Bolick of Boone, who plans to attend the University of South Carolina; and Elisha Hodges, daughter of Lee and Lisa Hodges of Vilas, who plans to attend Davidson County Community College.

Johnson County recipients are: Bradley McQueen, son of Kenneth and Lisa McQueen of Shady Valley, who plans to attend the University of Tennessee; and Amanda Farley, daughter of James and Lisa Farley of Shady Valley, who plans to attend Northeast State Community College.

Established in 1951, SkyLine is a member-owned cooperative which provides a variety of telecommunications services to customers in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties in North Carolina and Johnson County in east Tennessee. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, SkyBest Communications, Inc., offers a variety of de-regulated products and services, including local calling services, business systems and network solutions, broadband Internet services and long distance.