Esmark Announces 2011-2012 Scholarship Recipients
11/11/2011 - Esmark, Inc. announced this week the recipients of the company’s 2011-2012 Helen Bouchard Esmark Scholars.
Esmark, Inc. announced this week the recipients of the company’s 2011-2012 Helen Bouchard Esmark Scholars. Combined, Esmark and its subsidiaries have awarded $15,000 in scholarships to children of Esmark subsidiaries in Pennsylvania and Illinois.
This year’s Helen Bouchard Esmark Scholars include four children from the Meadville/Conneaut Lake, Pa., area whose parents are employed by Meadville-based Excalibur Machine Co., a subsidiary of Esmark’s Industrial Group division, as well as three children of employees from the company’s Esmark Steel Group subsidiary in Chicago Heights, Ill.
Scholarship recipients were selected based on academic achievement, significant community involvement and noteworthy extracurricular activities.
Esmark, Inc. founder, Chairman and CEO James P. Bouchard explained the Esmark Scholars program named in honor of his mother, Helen Bouchard, had been created in 2004 to recognize outstanding scholastic performance by family members of Esmark, Inc. and its subsidiary companies’ employees.
“My mother and late father provided tremendous educational opportunities to me and my brothers and sisters, and instilled in us the value of life-long learning,” said Bouchard. “The goal of the Esmark Scholars program is to provide those same educational opportunities for the children of our employees and give them the financial support to follow their career dreams. We congratulate each of them and wish them the best in their continuing education.”
Each of the following 2011-2012 Helen Bouchard Esmark Scholars from Pennsylvania will receive $2,500 to assist in furthering their education:
- Matt Orr, a sophomore at The University of Pittsburgh, studying accounting and finance. Matt’s father, Dave Orr, is an employee of Excalibur Machine Company in Meadville.
- Levi Williams, a junior at Mercyhurst College, in Erie, Pa., whose father Daniel Williams is an employee of Excalibur Machine Company.
- Mackenzie Gilson, a sophomore at Kent State University in East Liverpool, Ohio, studying fashion design and merchandising.
- Nickalaus Gilson, in his first year at The Fortis Institute studying Welding & Fabrication. Mackenzie and Nickalaus are the children of Scott Gilson, an Excalibur Machine Company, and are the first dual recipients of the award. Both will receive $1,250 scholarships.
Each of the following 2011-2012 Helen Bouchard Esmark Scholars from Illinois will receive $2,500 to assist in furthering their education:
- Josefina Estrada, a freshman at Purdue University (West Lafayette), studying pre-pharmacy. Josefina’s father, Rogelio Estrada, is an employee at Esmark Steel Group in Chicago Heights, Ill.
- Jeffrey Lenz, a freshman at Indiana University – Bloomington, studying computer science. Jeffrey’s father, Ken Lenz, is an employee at Esmark Steel Group.
- Jacina Sims, a senior at Saint Xavier University, in Chicago, studying clinical counseling psychology. Jacina’s mother, Linda Walker, is an employee at Esmark Steel Group.
Since its creation in 2004, The Helen Bouchard Esmark Scholars program has awarded more than $100,000 in education scholarships to children of Esmark, Inc. and subsidiary companies’ employees. In addition, since 2004 Esmark has also donated more than $5 million to a diverse group of charitable organizations in Illinois and Pennsylvania engaged in education, family wellness, social services and youth recreation and sports programs.
Esmark, Inc. is a privately owned holding company created to house the investment and philanthropic activities of James P. Bouchard, who is founder, Chairman and CEO of Esmark Inc. Esmark's roots run deep in the steel industry, but over the years the company has diversified its interests into a number of ventures in and around the industrial and commodity markets.
