12 Canadians Among GAAS Scholarship Winners

The Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) Scholarship Committee has announced the
awarding of scholarships to 154 students in 2007.
The $1,000 scholarships represent 142 students in the U.S., and 12 in Canada.
The announcement was made last week during the 2007 Symposium at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare near Chicago.
“I was very pleased with the over the 350 applications we received, and the quality of scholarship applicants,” said Pete Kornafel, chair, GAAS Scholarship Committee.
“The GAAS Scholarship Committee of more than 20
volunteers did a masterful job of reviewing all those applications and selecting this year’s recipients.”
Kornafel notes that this year’s selection process included a new collaborative effort with the Breslow Foundation and with APSA, the
wholesaler association headquartered in Texas that represents nine southwestern states.
“We were able to pool all applications from these groups allowing APSA, Breslow Foundation, and GAAS to each make their own selections by reviewing applicants who met their unique requirements and criteria,” explained Kornafel. The awards included GAAS Scholarships funded by donations from the University of the Aftermarket
Foundation, ASC Industries, and R.L. Polk & Company.
To be eligible for a GAAS scholarship, applicants must be enrolled full-time in a college-level program or an ASE/NATEF (National
Automotive Technician Education Foundation) certified automotive technical program.
Graduate programs and part-time undergraduate
programs do not qualify.
The GAAS scholarship also is unique in that recipients who graduate from their program and show proof of employment as a technician in the
automotive aftermarket for at least six months after graduation can receive a second matching grant.
The annual investment to help develop future aftermarket industry leaders is primarily funded through proceeds from the annual Global
Automotive Aftermarket Symposium.