ARLINGTON, Va. — The Clifford H. “Ted” Rees, Jr. Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and ACCA, recently awarded 37 scholarship awards totaling $63,000. Of the 37 recipients, four are veterans who are studying to become technicians in the HVACR and water heating industries.
“We are pleased to award scholarships to these qualified and dedicated students and veterans, and hope to eventually welcome them into the industry,” said Stephen Yurek, president and CEO, AHRI. “Each year, the foundation provides aid to an increasing number of recipients, helping to promote careers in the industry and fill good-paying jobs that cannot be outsourced.”
“Developing quality workers is a critical initiative that everyone in our industry is working together to accomplish,” said Paul Stalknecht, president and CEO, ACCA. “We are proud to partner with the Rees Scholarship Foundation and AHRI to give these hard-working students and veterans scholarships to help them continue their education, which will develop into a strong workforce for our industry’s future.”
The HVACR and water heating technician program recipients are José Manuel De Leon, South Texas College, McAllen, Texas; Leonard Rhodes, Bevill State Community College, Sumiton, Alabama; Jimmie Finch, Ozark Technical College, Springfield, Missouri; Shakeel Ahmad, Intercoast College, Burbank, California; Jeremy McCollough, Bevill State Community College, Sumiton, Alabama; Dustin Maune, State Technical College of Missouri, Linn, Missouri; Jesus Galindo, Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, Texas; Christopher Castro, Intercoast College, Burbank, California; Lal Liana, Des Moines Area Community College, Des Moines, Iowa; Corey Justice, Bevill State Community College, Sumiton, Alabama; Adam Franklin, Fort Myers Technical College, Fort Myers, Florida; Kyle Fowler, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, Nebraska; William Carswell, Intercoast College, Burbank, California; Steven Banker, Tyler Junior College, Tyler, Texas; Timothy Kauffman, Tidewater Community College, Norfolk, Virginia; Keyondra Shell, Delaware Technical High School, Georgetown, Delaware; Paul Edwards, Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland; Wyatt Dates, SUNY Delhi, Delhi, New York; Crescenciano Toscano, Midwestern Technical Institute, Springfield, Illinois; Menka Wonzon, Des Moines Area Community College, Des Moines, Iowa; Garner Page Williams, Calhoun Community College, Tanner, Alabama; Matthew Smith, Bevill State Community College, Sumiton, Alabama; Pragnesh Patel, Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Cain Johanns, Des Moines Area Community College, Des Moines, Iowa; Karter Kunze, Des Moines Area Community College, Des Moines, Iowa; Chinoel Kendrick, Georgia Piedmont Technical College, Clarkston, Georgia; Deborrah Hatt, Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Tristian Jackson, Southern Union State Community College, Wadley, Alabama; Martin Berry, Lincoln Tech, Lincoln, Rhode Island; Kori Searcy, Georgia Piedmont Technical College, Clarkston, Georgia; Christine Matthews, Bevill State Community College, Sumiton, Alabama; Alex Deputie, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Minneapolis; and Stanley Osborne, Gwinnett Technical College, Lawrenceville, Georgia.
The veterans program recipients are Ovadia Mizrahi, Sheridan Technical College, Hollywood, Florida; Gilbert Olivera, College of the Desert, Palm Desert, California; Bradley Tanner, Green Country Technology Center, Okmulgee, Oklahoma; and Isaias Tristian, San Jacinto College, Pasadena, Texas.
Since the Rees Scholarship Foundation was founded in 2003, it has awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships to nearly 300 deserving students and instructors. For a list of past scholarship recipients, visit http://bit.ly/1RSVhgN.
Publication date: 11/14/2016
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