Rees Scholarship Foundation Awards $58,200 to Aid Aspiring HVACR Technicians and SkillsUSA Championship Winners
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 the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), today announced scholarship awards totaling $58,200 to 36 students, including four veterans, studying to become technicians in the HVACR and water heating industry.
"We are pleased to award scholarships to these qualified and dedicated students and veterans, and hope to eventually welcome them into the industry," said AHRI President and CEO Stephen Yurek. "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 ACCA President and CEO Paul T. Stalknecht. "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."
HVACR and Water Heating Technician Program Recipients:
Chandler Accardo, ITI, (Baton Rouge, La.)
Jorge Angulo, Front Range Community College (Fort Collins, Colo.)
Cameo Banks, Front Range Community College (Fort Collins, Colo.)
Mehran Beheshti, Intercoast College (Rancho Cordova, Calif.)
Duraunte Colly, Intercoast College (Rancho Cordova, Calif.)
Eugene Crutcher, Moore Tech (Memphis, Tenn.)
Karin Dahlin, Minneapolis Community and Technical College (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Heath Dixon, Northwest Shoals Community College (Muscles Shoals, Ala.)
Timothy Dunegan, Green Country Technology Center (Okmulgee, Okla.)
John Gisonna, Penn College of Technology (Williamsport, Pa.)
Justin Heavner, MIAT College of Technology (Canton, Miss.)
Doug Ingersoll, Illinois Central College (East Peoria, Ill.)
Dylan Jackson, Ferris State University (Big Rapids, Mich.)
Richard Karimi-Hosseini, Brownson Technical School (Anaheim, Calif.)
Kristen Kimmel, LoneStar College-North Harris (Houston, Texas)
Benjamin Mayfield, Bevill State Community College (Sumiton, Ala.)
Steve McDonald, Ivy Tech (Lafayette, Ind.)
Tristan Nairmore, Bevill State Community College (Hamilton, Ala.)
Samuel Ocampo Martinez, Minneapolis Community & Technical College (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Doug Olson, Des Moines Area Community College, (Ankeny, Iowa)
Alexander Pitts, Intercoast College (Fairfield, Calif.)
Adam Reynolds, InterCoast College (Sacramento, Calif.)
Austin Reynolds, Pennsylvania School of Technology (Williamsport, Pa.)
Domingo Rodriguez, Intercoast (Sacramento, Calif.)
Jamison Sholander, Ferris State University (Big Rapids, Mich.)
Carmica Ussery, J.F Drake State Community and Technical (Huntsville, Ala.)
Andre Wilson, Galveston College Applied Technology Center (Galveston, Texas)
Daniel Wipf, DMACC (Ankeny, Iowa)
Veterans Program Recipients:
Christopher Oja, Ferris State University (Big Rapids, Mich.)
Shilo Tharp, Des Moines Area Community College (Ankeny, Iowa)
SkillsUSA Program Recipients:
Michael Cain, Ferris State University (Big Rapids, Mich.)
Blaine Feeler, State Technical College of Missouri (Linn, Mo.)
Raymond Leidinger, Lamar Institute of Technology (Beaumont, Texas)
Matthew Peterson, Des Moines Area Community College (Ankeny, Iowa)
Steven Steward, The Refrigeration School, (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Ethan Tucker, Red River Technology Center (Duncan, Okla.)
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, click here.
