HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Through the Collision Repair Education Foundation and the 3M “Hire Our Heroes” program, four winners have been selected for a tool grant. The recipients, all military veterans, started their collision education at various colleges around the country beginning in the summer/fall of 2014. Each winning student had the opportunity to select $2,500 worth of tools to help them during their education and for employment after graduation.

The winners are:
·      Jerry Rawson (Bridgerland Applied Technology College, Logan, Utah)
·      Glenn Valdez (Kennedy King College, Chicago, Ill.)
·      Courtney Washington (Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville, N.C.)
·      Anthony Wrinkler (UTI, Sacramento, Calif.)

Clark Plucinski, executive director of the Collision Repair Education Foundation said, “The Collision Repair Education Foundation is proud to continue to partner with 3M and the Hire Our Heroes program to offer these grant awards. There are an incredible amount of opportunities in the collision industry and thanks to 3M, these winning students will have the tools that will make them successful in their education and beyond. It is an honor to show our support of military veterans through this program.”

“This is our third year of providing this type of support to our military veterans and their family members,” said Dale Ross, 3M U.S. marketing operations manager, Automotive Aftermarket Division. “We hope to continue to attract veterans to our industry, and help those that choose this career path get the tools and training they need to be successful.”

Additional scholarship opportunities are currently available for students studying at collision repair schools, including veterans, at the website, www.CollisionEducationFoundation.org under “Students.”