$88,500 in Scholarships Awarded for NRHA Training Program

Manufacturers and distributors are collectively providing approximately $88,500 in scholarship money to pay for part of the cost for 14 retailers to attend the North American Retail Hardware Association’s management training program this spring.

The financial assistance provided will help scholarship recipients improve their leadership and retail management skills through the Spring 2015 session of NRHA’s Retail Management Certification Program. The program participants will gain valuable industry knowledge needed to achieve success as they advance their careers.

A panel composed of the NRHA Board of Directors and NRHA staff members reviewed and awarded the scholarships. The panel selected the recipients based on their application responses and specific criteria outlined by each scholarship provider. Each recipient submitted an essay explaining what receiving the funding and participating in the program would mean to them and how it would benefit their businesses.

2015 Spring Scholarship

• Benjamin Moore Scholarship—Jeff Hoag, manager, Aubuchon Hardware; Brian Collins, manager, Aubuchon Hardware
• Fulton Scholarship—Melissa Blair, assistant manager/marketing and events coordinator, Schnarr’s Hardware
• Hyde Tools Scholarship—Dennis McCarthy, manager, Mayer Paint & Hardware
• Intertape Polymer Group Scholarship—Andrew Skoff, Stanford Home Centers
• North American Retail Hardware Association Scholarship—Manish Uttamchandani, vice president, KB Home Center; Jim Rivas, store manager, Friedman’s Home Improvement
• PRO Group/Bostwick-Braun Scholarship—Anthony Wilkerson, assistant manager, Burkhardt PRO Hardware
• Simple Green Scholarship—Dallin Redd, president, Redd’s Ace Hardware; Hunt Boa, sales associate, Koopman Lumber Company
• Stanley Black & Decker Scholarship—Christian Herrick, vice president of retail operations, Randy’s Do it Best Hardware; Darrell Baker, vice president of retail operations, Koopman Lumber Company; Chad Feucht, assistant manager, Karsten’s Ace Hardware
• Wooster Brush Scholarship—Annie Campbell, treasurer, M&M True Value Hardware

In addition to supporting the careers of individual recipients through scholarship funds, these manufacturers and distributors are investing in the future growth of the independent home improvement industry.

“As manufacturers and distributors allow more students to go through the NRHA Retail Management Certification Program, the number of leaders in the independent home improvement industry increases, which only helps the independent industry to improve and thrive,” says Bill Lee, president and CEO of NRHA. “We’re so thankful to the sponsoring manufacturers and distributors for their support to retailers going through the program.”

A number of scholarship opportunities, including funding from Blish-Mize, PACOA and the National Hardware Show®, will be available for the Fall 2015 Retail Management Certification Program class that starts in September.

Developed in conjunction with Butler University in Indianapolis, NRHA’s Retail Management Certification Program is designed to teach top employees the leadership and management skills needed to become future business leaders within the industry.

For more detailed course information and specifics on scholarship opportunities, please visit nrha.org/rmcp or contact Scott Wright, executive director of the Retail Leadership Institute, at 317-275-9417 or swright@nrha.org.