The Connecticut Marine Trades Association (CMTA), Essex, Conn., has been selected as a recipient of a 2017 Marine Trade Association Technical Scholarship, the MRAA Educational Foundation announced. The scholarship was presented to Kathleen Burns, Executive Director of CMTA, on Sunday evening, Dec. 10, during the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas Opening Night Awards Celebration at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla.
The CMTA is committed to encouraging a new generation of marine industry employees through its scholarship program, and serves as many qualified awardees as possible. The association holds an annual golf tournament to raise money for its scholarship program, which hands out funds during three award periods per year. The program fulfills the state association’s mission to build a strong and professional workforce for the future of the industry.
Initially underwritten by the OMC Foundation, the purpose of the Marine Trades Association Technical Scholarship is to offer financial assistance for technical training of marine dealership personnel. Applicants must show evidence of plans to offer a scholarship for technical training of marine dealership personnel in the year ahead, commit to matching the $1,500 scholarship amount if selected, and submit qualifications that determine scholarship recipient.
“The MRAA Educational Foundation’s Technical Scholarship Selection Committee was impressed by CMTA’s robust, year-long, scholarship program,” comments Jeff Siems, President of the MRAA Educational Foundation Board of Directors. “It gave us confidence in the association’s ability to put the scholarship funds immediately to work to strengthen the technical skills of the marine dealership workforce.”
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 or to donate to support the foundation’s mission, visit MRAA.com/foundation.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA), 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. 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 MRAA.com.
