Bay Area Manufacturers Association Scholarships Help Promote Manufacturing Initiatives in Tampa Bay

June 16, 2011 - PRLog -- Burton Bellamy, a current student at Hillsborough Community College (HCC), will receive a $1000 scholarship from BAMA (Bay Area Manufacturers Association). The scholarship will be presented by keynote speaker, William R. “Willy” Schweikert, director of engineering for Florida region at Raytheon during BAMA’s dinner meeting at the Countryside Country Club in Clearwater today, June 16, 2011.
         David Stailey, president of BAMA says the initiative is part of an effort to promote manufacturing in the bay area, and to encourage students to pursue educational pathways in manufacturing and/or other high-tech fields that will help them become future engineers. Stailey says there is a great need for technical/engineering support, and to keep manufacturing jobs in the bay area, and “manufacturing offers a better quality of life than merely flipping burgers.” The good news, he says, is there are many high paying jobs in manufacturing that can be availed of with a two year technical/associates degree. “What we’re working on is coming up with a strategy to reach out to younger generation, and to get them excited and involved in pursuing educational/career pathways in innovative STEM and manufacturing-related fields.”  
         To qualify for the BAMA scholarship, applicants had to write a 500 word essay highlighting reasons for their interest in being appointed as a BAMA scholarship winner, outline educational goals and/or career plans relevant to the vision and expectations of a manufacturing association, expected contributions by the applicant to the manufacturing field, and how the BAMA scholarship would impact their academic goals. Applicants also had to provide two recommendation letters—one from the parent/grandparent; the other from a current school teacher, administrator, or a BAMA member, along with transcripts documenting previous higher education credentials.  
         In addition to the $1000 scholarship, BAMA will be donating money to help support several manufacturing and STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) related initiatives throughout the Tampa bay area. BAMA will help support Florida Advanced Technological Education Center, a National Science Foundation Regional Center for Manufacturing’s, high-tech robotics camps this summer at HCC-Brandon. It is also donating money to support STEM-related programs at the St. Petersburg Science Center in St. Petersburg, FL. The organization also gave two $500 scholarships to Pasco and Pinellas Vocational Technical Centers. Money for the scholarships was raised through BAMA scholarship golf tournament held in April, 2011.
         For information on BAMA scholarships, or to register for the June dinner meeting contact Dave Stailey at 813.626.7006/dpstailey@aol.com, or visit www.bama-fl.org. For information on additional scholarships provided by regional manufacturers associations across Florida contact Dr. Marilyn Barger, executive director of FLATE at HCC-Brandon at barger@fl-ate.org, or visit www.madeinflorida.org/scholarships.

FLATE is a National Science Foundation Regional Center of Excellence, committed to ensuring Florida has a well prepared workforce for advanced and emerging technologies. Created in 2004, FLATE is one of 39 Advanced Technological Education Centers in the United States funded by the National Science Foundation focused on improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and training to meet the needs of American advanced technology industries. For more information visit www.fl-ate.org

Bay Area Manufacturers Association (BAMA), established in 1954, is committed to serving the collective needs of the growing Tampa Bay manufacturing community. BAMA represents the interests of manufacturing and associate support industries of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. The Association also encourages development and growth of manufacturing industries through education and exchange of information while promoting business relationships among members. For more information visit www.bama-fl.org.

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FLATE, the National Science Foundation Center of Excellence in high-technology manufacturing, is the go-to organization supporting Florida's high-skilled workforce through advanced technical education, best practices and resources. www.fl-ate.org