Missouri American Water Announces Scholarship Award Winners

Press Release

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 07, 2011-- American Water has announced the winners of the 20th annual James V. LaFrankie Scholarship Awards. The scholarships are available to eight college-bound children of full-time American Water employees.

Two of the winners are children of Missouri American Water employees, chosen for their outstanding high school records, academic honors, participation in extracurricular activities and teacher recommendations. The scholarships are awarded for a term of one year in individual awards of $1,000. Scholarship renewal is contingent upon the student's academic progress and may be renewed up to three years.

The scholarship award recipients are as follows:

-- Taylor Hebenstreit of Chesterfield graduated from Parkway Central High School with a 4.0 GPA. She plans to study pre-pharmacy at Purdue University in preparation for the Doctor of Pharmacy Program. She is the daughter of Cindy Hebenstreit, Director of Water Quality and Environmental Compliance for Missouri American Water.

-- Alan E. Ratermann of Florissant is a graduate of St. Louis University High School and an Eagle Scout. He plans to attend Rockhurst University and study English/Education. He is the son of Alan F. Ratermann, Construction Worker Lead Person for Missouri American Water.

Missouri American Water President Frank Kartmann congratulated the students for their academic excellence and overall achievement.

The American Water Board of Directors established the scholarship program in 1991 in honor of former American Water president, James LaFrankie. LaFrankie demonstrated the value he placed on college education by earning a degree at Georgetown University night school while working at the Alexandria Virginia Water Company, now known as Virginia American Water. LaFrankie advanced to increasingly responsible positions over his 44-year career with American Water, retiring as the company's president in 1991.

Missouri American Water

Missouri American Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest publicly traded water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.5 million people.

Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 15 million people in more than 30 states, as well as parts of Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.

In 2011, American Water is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a yearlong campaign to promote water efficiency and the importance of protecting water from source to tap. To learn more, visit www.amwater125.com.

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CONTACT: Missouri American Water

Ann Dettmer, 314-996-2356

[email protected]

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA MISSOURI

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: EDUCATION UNIVERSITY ENERGY UTILITIES PHILANTHROPY OTHER PHILANTHROPY

SOURCE: Missouri American Water Copyright Business Wire 2011 http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110607005455/en