FMA Foundation announces new scholarship program

The Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA) Foundation has established 10 new scholarships of $500 each for students seeking careers in manufacturing. The new "GO-Brennan" Scholarships are tied to FMA's sponsorship of 16-year-old stock car driver Brennan Palmiter's 2008 racing season. Palmiter is proficient in four types of welding, a skill he uses to motivate other young people to consider the industrial trades as a career choice.

To announce the program, Palmiter will appear in a video on YouTube inviting high school, trade school, and college students to apply for the scholarships. The application process will be quite untraditional: students will create and post their own videos explaining why they want to be in manufacturing, what career they seek, and where they want to attend school. They'll also be encouraged to include footage of themselves welding or building with metal. The application deadline is April 4, 2008.

"With the 'GO-Brennan' scholarship offering, the FMA Foundation will reach young people in the social space where they live," said Terrence Egan, director of the FMA Foundation. "The scholarship offerings are expected to drive thousands of views. Applicants' video testimonials of why they want careers in manufacturing will be seen by their peers, and the effect will be viral."

More information on the FMA Foundation and a link to Brennan Palmiter's YouTube video are available at www.fma-foundation.org.

Based in Rockford, Ill., the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, Intl. (FMA), is a professional organization with more than 2,000 members working together to improve the metal forming and fabricating industry. Founded in 1970, FMA brings metal fabricators and fabricating equipment manufacturers together through technology councils, educational programs, networking events, and the FABTECH International/AWS Welding Show. FMA also has a technology affiliate, the Tube & Pipe Association, International (TPA), which focuses on the unique needs of companies engaged in tube and pipe producing and fabricating.