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, 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 Stephen Yurek, AHRI president and CEO. “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 T. 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.”

HVACR and Water Heating Technician Program Recipients include Chandler Accardo, ITI, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jorge Angulo, Front Range Community College, Fort Collins, Colorado; Cameo Banks, Front Range Community College, Fort Collins, Colorado; Mehran Beheshti, InterCoast College, Rancho Cordova, California; Duraunte Colly, InterCoast College, Rancho Cordova, California; Eugene Crutcher, Moore Tech, Memphis, Tennessee; Karin Dahlin, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Minneapolis; Heath Dixon, Northwest Shoals Community College, Muscles Shoals, Alabama; Timothy Dunegan, Green Country Technology Center, Okmulgee, Oklahoma; John Gisonna, Penn College of Technology, Williamsport, Pennsylvania; Justin Heavner, MIAT College of Technology, Canton, Mississippi; Doug Ingersoll, Illinois Central College, East Peoria, Illinois; Dylan Jackson, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan; Richard Karimi-Hosseini, Brownson Technical School, Anaheim, California; Kristen Kimmel, LoneStar College-North Harris, Houston; Benjamin Mayfield, Bevill State Community College, Sumiton, Alabama; Steve McDonald, Ivy Tech, Lafayette, Indiana; Tristan Nairmore, Bevill State Community College, Hamilton, Alabama; Samuel Ocampo Martinez, Minneapolis Community & Technical College, Minneapolis; Doug Olson, Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny, Iowa; Alexander Pitts, InterCoast College, Fairfield, California; Adam Reynolds, InterCoast College, Sacramento, California; Austin Reynolds, Pennsylvania School of Technology, Williamsport, Pennsylvania; Domingo Rodriguez, InterCoast, Sacramento, California; Jamison Sholander, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan; Carmica Ussery, J.F Drake State Community and Technical, Huntsville, Alabama; Andre Wilson, Galveston College Applied Technology Center, Galveston, Texas; and Daniel Wipf, DMACC, Ankeny, Iowa.

Veterans program recipients include Christopher Oja, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan;

And Shilo Tharp, Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny, Iowa.

SkillsUSA program recipients include Michael Cain, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan;

Blaine Feeler, State Technical College of Missouri, Linn, Missouri; Raymond Leidinger, Lamar Institute of Technology, Beaumont, Texas; Matthew Peterson, Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny, Iowa; Steven Steward, the Refrigeration School, Phoenix; and Ethan Tucker, Red River Technology Center, Duncan, Oklahoma.

Since its founding in 2003, the Rees Scholarship Foundation has awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships to nearly 300 deserving students and instructors.

For more information, visit www.reesscholarship.org.

Publication date: 9/6/2017

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