Salute to Construction sets up anniversary scholarships

The Salute to Construction & Design Council will award five $500 scholarships to students in the design and building trades in honor of the 25th Salute to Construction.

The annual observance is designed to promote the design and construction industry in the community and spark interest for working in those fields among local students. Salute to Construction includes sending building professionals as guest speakers to area schools and culminates with a banquet where companies and Salute member organizations present scholarships for students in the building trades.

A Salute council scholarship committee, led by Jared Walker of Grindstone Construction LLC, decided that the one-time scholarships will be awarded to individuals who have been displaced or adversely affected by the economic downturn and want to go to school for education or training in a construction-related field. Members of the Salute council serve on the scholarship committee. (For full disclosure, SBJ Features Editor Maria Hoover is a committee member.)

The scholarships may be used at Ozarks Technical Community College, Missouri State University or Drury University.

The deadline for scholarship applications is Sept. 30; winners will be announced during the Nov. 5 Salute to Construction banquet, with funds available for the spring 2010 semester that starts in January. Applications are available by calling the Springfield Contractors Association, (417) 862-1313.For more local construction news, see the July 20 edition of Springfield Business Journal, featuring In Focus: Construction & Design.