A. O. Smith has announced the winners of two $2,500 scholarships, and State Water Heaters the winner of one $2,500 scholarship, for students pursuing plumbing-heating-cooling related studies.
The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors (PHCC) Educational Foundation administers the scholarship program and is responsible for selecting the award winners. The scholarship program is designed to attract the new talent essential to the future of the plumbing and HVACR industry.
The 2015 A.O. Smith scholarship recipients are apprentices Kristopher Heine and Jorge Martinez.
Kristopher Heine of Newton, N.J., is working for PHCC member John Heine Plumbing & Heating, Sparta, N.J., and is enrolled as a plumbing apprentice in the PHCC eLearning Apprentice Program.
Jorge Martinez of Los Angeles is working for PHCC member Michelangelo’s Plumbing, Grenada Hills, Calif., and is enrolled as a plumbing apprentice in the PHCC of the Greater Los Angeles Area Apprentice Program.
“Supporting the studies of students looking to join our industry gives us a direct way to invest in the future,” said David Chisolm, vice president of marketing for A. O. Smith. “Those students will soon be the technicians who are installing our products, so we believe in helping them become the professionals that good training produces.”
The 2015 scholarship State Water Heater scholarship recipient is Austin T. Schmidt of Jasper, Ind. Schmidt is pursuing a degree in Construction Management at Ivy Technical Community College of Indiana.
“State is committed to helping our contractor partners fill their teams with well trained and highly qualified workers,” said Brandon Stepanek, manager, contractor marketing for State Water Heaters. “Education is the key to meeting the current and future demands of our industry.”
To qualify for a PHCC Educational Foundation scholarship (phccfoundation.org/scholarships), students must submit a detailed application including a letter of recommendation from an active member of the PHCC—National Association and enroll in a plumbing-heating-cooling related course of study or apprentice program such as business management, construction management or science specializing in mechanical construction or mechanical engineering.