CFPSVA awards scholarships to three Cove grads

By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press 

The cost of a higher education can be quite expensive, but that burden was lightened for three students, awarded scholarships on Monday.
The Citizens Fire & Public Safety Volunteer Association held its inaugural Shelby Fletcher and Dee Dee Helgren Scholarship Ceremony at the Police Department Community Room during which the group awarded three scholarships. 
Andrew McGuire, who will be attending CTC, received a $500 scholarship. Shelby Young, who attends the University of Texas at Arlington, also received a $500 scholarship. McKenna Miller, attends the University of Texas at San Antonio, received a $1,000 scholarship.
“It was a great opportunity for me,” said Miller, one of the scholarship recipients. “It makes me feel very grateful and very special.”
Miller added that in addition to being grateful for having been given the scholarship, she’s also very grateful to the organization as a whole for all the good things that they do, especially for first responders.
The scholarship program was founded in memory of Shelby Fletcher and Dee Dee Helgren. The program seeks to assist children of first responders in the city of Copperas Cove. Selection of recipients is based upon need, character, scholarship, leadership, and citizenship. 
“We wanted something for Shelby after she passed away,” said Cathy Stockman, event coordinator. “Since birth, she was running around with the group.”
Fletcher was Stockman’s granddaughter and Helgren was Stockman’s daughter. Stockman reminisced about how they helped with the organization in any way that they could, especially Shelby Fletcher who wasn’t officially a member due to her young age, but helped out the organization nearly from birth.
Stockman said that Monday’s scholarship presentation was emotional for her. She said that it didn’t really hit her until the night before that it was finally happening.
“I’m glad that we were able to do this,” said Cathy Stockman. 
The group is already raising money for next year’s scholarship program.
The Citizens Fire & Public Safety Volunteer Association serves to support first responders in the Copperas Cove community. The group gathers money to donate items or work on projects to make things better for our first responders.
“We support our firemen, and we support our policemen, and we support our community,” said James Stockman, president of the Citizens Fire & Public Safety Volunteer Association. “We all want to volunteer and give back to our community…We just want to be helpful to our community and our first responders and help them in whatever way that we can.”    
Those interested in learning more about the volunteer group can check out their Facebook page.