ST. LOUIS  - Emerson Climate Technologies has announced that it is supporting Florida State University’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication by offering a scholarship for select students pursuing careers in Hispanic Marketing Communication. With direction and cooperation from Emerson Climate Technologies, Florida State faculty will choose one recipient of the scholarship per semester for six semesters.

“We are pleased to support the Florida State University and this important program, designed to create more opportunities for students seeking careers in Hispanic Marketing Communication,” said Tom Bettcher, business unit leader of Emerson Climate Technologies. “This program is meaningful and timely for both the university and the HVACR industry, as we are seeing continuous growth of Latino contractors and end-users.”

Bettcher presented the donation to Felipe Korzenny, Ph.D., director of the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University, at an Executive Summit hosted by Emerson Climate Technologies. At the event, Korzenny spoke about the trends of U.S. Hispanic population growth, and more specifically, opportunities for marketing to the growing Latino business community. The summit brought in business leaders from across the HVACR industry, including contractors, wholesalers, original equipment manufacturers, and major retail end-users.

“We’re serving an increasing number of Latino customers, so it’s important that we bolster our labor force with workers who really understand this market,” said Larry Taylor, president of AirRite Air Conditioning Co. Inc., Ft. Worth, Texas. “I’m happy to see Emerson Climate Technologies taking the lead to ensure that our industry has a pool of new talent, so that we can take advantage of the growth opportunities this population represents.”

Representatives from leading original equipment manufacturers as well as major wholesalers that attended the summit were also pleased to see the scholarship program launched.

“The Hispanic market is a very large growth opportunity for our industry,” said Tom Huntington, vice president and general manager, Unitary Products, Johnson Controls Inc. “Emerson’s doing the industry a service by supporting programs like the one at Florida State.”

The Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University is the first of its kind in the U.S. The center’s primary goals are to provide training to both students and industry professionals and serve as a source of knowledge about the Latino market through research and experience. This new scholarship program will aid in the continuous achievement of these goals.

For more information on Emerson Climate Technologies products and initiatives, visit www.emersonclimate.com.

Publication date: 05/07/2007