MRAA Technical Scholarships awarded to two marine schools

MINNEAPOLIS — The Landing School and the WTI Foundation have been selected as recipients of 2013 MRAA Technical Scholarships. The scholarships were announced by MRAA Educational Foundation President Ed Lofgren of 3A Marine, Inc. on Wednesday, Nov. 20 during the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo Awards Luncheon.

"To grow the boating business, we need to attract men and women who are smart, passionate and hard working to the marine trades,” says Lofgren. "The foundation is our strategy for ensuring that the best students training for a career in our industry have the financial support they need to complete their education and enter the workforce.”

The MRAA Technical Scholarship Fund was founded to offer financial assistance for technical training of dealership personnel and was initially underwritten by the OMC Foundation. For several years, the foundation has used this scholarship to support the Landing School and Wyotech, though its WTI Foundation, by providing a $3,000 scholarship to each organization. These funds are specifically earmarked for a deserving student who is studying the marine trades.

"Even at the slow pace with which our industry has been recovering from the recession, we continue to hear of marine retailers who are struggling to find qualified marine technicians,” says Liz Walz, the foundation’s Executive Director. "With the industry’s support, there is so much more we can do to encourage students to build a future in the boating business.”

For more information, visit the MRAA Technical Scholarship web page: www.mraa.com/TechnicalScholarships. Please contact Liz Walz with any questions at 315-692-4533 or liz@mraa.com.

About MRAA Educational Foundation

As part of its mission to create a strong and healthy boating industry, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is committed to offering training, education and professional development opportunities to its members and the entire marine dealer community. In 2004, the association launched the MRAA Educational Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 corporation, to provide financial support for education, training and professional development in the recreational marine trades. For more information, visit www.MRAA.com/MRAAFoundation.

About Marine Retailers Association of the Americas

At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the companies that interact with the boater in their community must thrive. Those businesses determine the boater’s experience and are the leading factor in the industry’s success. The MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those businesses, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit www.MRAA.com.