WMIA awards $28,000 in scholarships

The Woodworking Machinery Industry Association’s Educational Foundation awards scholarships to those who want to study and eventually pursue a career in wood technology, machinery, and related fields. To date, the Foundation has provided over $400,000 to assist talented students with furthering their educational and career goals.

“WMIA is strongly committed to serving the industry at large, which includes helping to grow the workforce of the future,” says Larry Hoffer, WMIA’s president and CEO. “The support that our Education Foundation provides enables students to further their education in the wood industry, and it is our hope that some, if not all, of these students will remain in the industry after graduation.”

During this year’s Woodworking Industry Conference, the Foundation’s Board of Trustees selected 11 college students to receive a total of $15,000 in scholarships.

The Foundation also continued its Scholarship Endowment Program by providing a fixed amount of scholarship funds to Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan.; New England School of Architectural Woodworking in Easthampton, Mass., and National School of Furniture and Cabinetmaking in Victoriaville, Quebec, which awarded a total of $13,000 to 11 students.

“Once again this year, WMIA’s Education Committee and the Foundation Board of Trustees were quite impressed with not only the skills and accomplishments of the scholarship recipients, but the passion they expressed about having a career in the woodworking industry,” remarked WMIA Education Committee chairman Chris Hofmann, Lamello product manager at Colonial Saw Co. “WMIA is very proud to support the industry in this way year after year.”

The WMIA Educational Foundation is supported by contributions from business groups and individuals in the woodworking industry, and the International Woodworking Fair.

For more, visit www.wmia.org. 

This article originally appeared in the September 2018 issue.