WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Applications are now being accepted for the Textile Care Allied Trades Association (TCATA) College Scholarship. Students interested in pursuing a degree at any accredited U.S. college or university on a full-time basis are eligible to apply.
Applicants must be a full-time employee, child or grandchild of a member company in good standing of TCATA. Also, the employee must be employed by the sponsoring member company for over one year. Applications and supporting paperwork must be received by April 30, 2023.
The $2,000 scholarship will be awarded to an applicant who is anticipating a freshman entry to college, previously accepted as a freshman, or an underclassman continuing education at an accredited U.S. college or university on a full-time basis. All applicants must engage in studies during the fall semester immediately following their scholarship award. This scholarship program does not apply to graduate studies.
All scholarships will be awarded on the basis of four years of study. Payments for each year will be made prior to the fall semester providing the student maintains an academic average acceptable for continued study and remains in good standing in the school attended.
TCATA states that, while it is desirable that those receiving scholarships select courses of study that will prepare them to participate in and materially contribute to the textile care industry, it is not mandatory.
The application deadline is April 30th. For more information, contact [email protected], or to apply, visit the TCATA website.
History of TCATA Scholarship
TCATA’s scholarship is in memory of two outstanding individuals who contributed greatly to both the Association and to the textile care industry — Dean Allen and Max Zimmerman.
In 1938 at the age of 15, Dean C. Allen started working for Allen and Vickers, a family business based in Atlanta, Georgia, distributing laundry and drycleaning equipment. Until his death in May 1980, Dean Allen spent 42 dedicated years working for his company, supporting TCATA projects and striving for the improvement of the entire textile care industry.
Allen had served as a Vice President of the TCATA Distributor Group, was a member of the TCATA Board of Directors and was elected President of TCATA for two terms. At the time of his death, Dean Allen was active in developing this scholarship program, which was established in 1980.
Max Zimmerman got his start in the industry in 1924 by working in his father’s drycleaning plant in Dayton, Ohio. In 1953, he started his own drycleaning company and went on to invent one of the first spray finishes for fabrics. He upgraded the textile care business by promoting awareness and increased understanding of problems faced by various segments within the industry.
Zimmerman served on TCATA’s Board of Directors as well as Secretary-Treasurer. In recognition of his work, he had received all three major awards from the Association — the Young Timer Man of the Year, the Silver Circle Club Man of The Year and the Morry Friedlander Award. The Max Zimmerman Fund — established in 1990 — was made possible by a generous donation by Zimmerman. He passed away in 2000.
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