Foundation/Scholarship Program

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
July 16, 2009

OOIDA scholarship program announces selection of year 2009 OOIDA scholars.

The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is pleased to announce the 2009 Mary Johnston Scholarship recipients along with a new sponsor, Shell Rotella.

The application process challenged applicants to compose a 500-word essay about how a trucker has influenced their lives, the way that their educational goals reflect their personality and suggestions for how OOIDA can improve the public image of professional truck drivers.

Scholarships are available for children, grandchildren and legal dependents of OOIDA members. Shell Rotella recently became a $10,000 sponsor of the program.

Winners of the scholarships are:

	Trevor James is the first place winner. He is the son of OOIDA member Glenn Layh of Winner, S.D. He plans to major in mechanical engineering at South Dakota State University in Brookings. He received a $2,000 scholarship for his first year of school, which he can renew for another three years for a total of $8,000.
	Sarah Sharie Hester of Piggot, Arkansas is the daughter of OOIDA member Scott Hester. She plans to study elementary education at Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge.
	Patrick J. Perryman of Nebo, Kentucky. The son of OOIDA member Anthony “Tony” Perryman, he plans to study pre-accounting, business and economics at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
	Nelson Samuel Schmidt of Tamaroa, Illinois is the son of OOIDA member Andy Schmidt. He will study aviation management at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
	Tiffany Michelle Sirucek of Louisburg, North Carolina is the daughter of OOIDA member Quincy Dondi Sirucek. She plans to study to be a nurse and radiologenic technician.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the largest national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has nearly 160,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo., area.

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e-mail: ooida@ooida.com
Website: ooida.com

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OOIDA Foundation Scholarship Program