3M Automotive Aftermarket Division and the Collision Repair Education Foundation have announced the 33 recipients of the 2018 3M Hire Our Heroes awards. The recipients include students who have served or are currently serving in the military and their family members.
This is the sixth year that 3M has partnered with the Collision Repair Education Foundation in support of the collision repair industry and our nation’s veterans. Since 2013, the 3M Hire Our Heroes program has generated more than $1,065,500 to be used toward scholarships and tool grants for military veterans and their family members. Nearly 330 military veterans and their families have already received scholarships and grants.
This year, each winning veteran student had the opportunity to select $1,500 worth of tools as part of the award. For those students graduating this year, they have the opportunity to select an additional $1,500 in tools upon graduation and upon getting hired into the collision industry. There were additional $1,000 scholarships for select veterans.
The 2018 3M Hire Our Heroes veteran and active duty tool grant and scholarship recipients are:
- Anthony Noffsinger, Walla Walla Community College, Walla Walla, Wash., U.S. Army, National Guard
- Anderson Merchant, Texas State Technical College, Waco, Texas, U.S. Marine Corps
- Chad Brubaker, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Green Bay, Wis., U.S. Navy
- Rebekka Rollison, Wilkes Community College, Wilkesboro, N.C., U.S. Navy
- Michael Boggs, Wiregrass Technical College, Valdosta, Ga., U.S. Air Force
- Christopher Yates, Cape Fear Community College, Wilmington, N.C., U.S. Army
- Hector Corujo, Texas State Technical College, Waco, Texas, U.S. Air Force
- Lance Myers, Chattanooga State Community College, Chattanooga, Tenn., U.S. Marine Corps
- Mitchell Crosby, Manatee Technical College, Bradenton, Fla., U.S. Army
- Victor Aremu, Hennepin Technical College, Brooklyn Park, Minn., U.S. Army, National Guard
- Robert Van Pelt, George Stone Technical School, Pensacola, Fla., U.S. Air Force
- Gamalier Rivera, Texas Southmost College, Brownsville, Texas, U.S. Army
- Diego Cruz, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville, N.C., U.S. Marine Corps
- Rich Gray, Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, Ill., U.S. Marine Corps
- Justin Whitesell, Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst, N.C., U.S. Army
- Craig Blouvet, Erie Community College, Orchard Park, N.Y., U.S. Army
- Taylor Bozarth, Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, Neb., U.S. Marine Corps
- Christopher Valdez, Texas State Technical College, Harlingen, Texas, U.S. Army
- Toy Johnson, Universal Technical Institute, Houston, Texas, U.S. Army
- Severon Carlson, Pickens Technical College, Aurora, Colo., U.S. Army, National Guard
- Tyler Turner, Universal Technical Institute, Houston, Texas, U.S. Army
- Robert Bates, Manhattan Area Technical College, Manhattan, Kan., U.S. Army
- Terry Dickenson, Manhattan Area Technical College, Manhattan, Kan., U.S. Army
- Zakery Louden, Northland Community & Technical College, Thief River Falls, Minn., U.S. Air Force
- Bryan Munoz, Manhattan Area Technical College, Manhattan, Kan., U.S. Army
- Thomas Remily, Manhattan Area Technical College, Manhattan, Kan., U.S. Army
- Rafael Rivera, Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst, N.C., U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, National Guard
- Daniel Mathis, Ivy Tech Community College, Fort Wayne, Ind., U.S. Navy
- Justin Romero, Texas State Technical College, Waco, Texas, U.S. Army Reserve
- Michael Brown, Universal Technical Institute, Houston, Texas, U.S. Navy
- Daniel Selvy, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville, N.C., U.S. Army
- Shane Ruh, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, New England, National Guard
- Brandon Dallas, Richland Community College, Decatur, Ill., U.S. Army, National Guard
In addition, five collision students who have immediate family members who served or are serving in the military were selected as scholarship winners. Each student received an award of $2,500 to help with their education costs. They are:
- Abagayle Boden
- Jessica Murray
- Kenya Hundley
- Henry Hams
- Andrew Jackson
“Supporting both our industry and our military veterans remains a high priority for us,” said Dale Ross, U.S. marketing operations manager for 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division. “This is our way of showing our gratitude for their service, while helping our industry by preparing what will be great future employees.”
The Collision Repair Education Foundation is looking to help connect these students with industry businesses who would be interested in meeting and potentially hiring them. If your business is interested in hiring one of the winning students, send your business information including location to the Collision Repair Education Foundation at [email protected] and the organization will help introduce both parties for potential employment opportunities.
The ultimate goal of the 3M Hire Our Heroes campaign is to support the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in raising awareness for hiring America’s heroes and help drive employment in the collision repair industry for these deserving veterans and their families.
For more information on the 3M Hire Our Heroes campaign, contact Dale Ross, 3M Automotive Aftermarket, at [email protected] or visit www.3mcollision.com/hire.
