“The Great Minds scholarships are a way for Volvo Trucks to give back to our customers and show how much we appreciate their support,” said Scott Kress, Volvo senior vice president – sales & marketing. “It’s also a great way to reward achievement and hard work by the generation which will succeed us. Their future is our future, and the Volvo Trucks Great Minds scholarships will help secure that future for three families. On behalf of Volvo, I congratulate the three winning scholars.”
The scholarship recipients were chosen from more than 300 applicants.
• Nathan Wittman of Columbus City, Iowa will receive a $20,000 scholarship from Volvo Trucks. Nathan currently attends the University of Iowa. His father, David Wittman, drives a Volvo VNL770 as an owner operator for Barr-Nunn Transportation.
• Jennifer Kaiser of Milford, Iowa will receive a $10,000 scholarship from Volvo Trucks and will enter Drake University this Fall. Her family’s agricultural operations rely heavily on trucks, including her father’s 1999 Volvo VN.
• Gregory Herbert of Villa Park, Illinois will receive a $5,000 scholarship from Volvo Trucks. He attends the Illinois Institute of Technology. His father, Rick Herbert, drives Volvo VNM Daycabs for YRC (in fact, Rick Herbert was the American Trucking Associations’ 2005 National Truck Driving Grand Champion).
The students were evaluated on the basis of their overall academic performance, extracurricular activities, work experience, and an essay on: “What has trucking meant to my family?” For example, in his application, Nathan Wittman wrote about a short documentary film he shot about his father and the trucking industry for his college film studies course. “My goal was just to show a truck driver as he really is, and to dispel some of the … myths about the trucking industry,” Nathan wrote.
“It was extremely difficult to make our selection from so many excellent and deserving candidates,” said Volvo’s Kress. “Trucking has obviously been a strong and beneficial influence in their lives and Volvo is proud to be associated with them.”
Volvo Trucks North America’s operations and products are guided by the company’s three core values: Safety, Quality and Environmental Care. The Volvo VT, VN and VHD trucks are assembled in the United States at the New River Valley Plant in Dublin, Virginia, while Volvo engines for North America are assembled in Hagerstown, Maryland. Both plants are certified to ISO14001 environmental and ISO9001 quality standards. Volvo also sponsors America’s Road Team, a national highway safety outreach program.
Volvo Trucks North America is part of the Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and services, and one of the world's leading producers of heavy-diesel engines (9-16 liter). The Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. The Volvo Group, which employs about 100,000 people, has production facilities in 19 countries and sells their products in more than 180 markets. Volvo Group sales for 2008 amounted to over $46 billion. The Volvo Group is a publicly-held company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic Exchange and are traded OTC in the U.S.
July 21, 2009
For further information, please contact Jim McNamara, Volvo Trucks North America, phone 336-393-2143, email james.mcnamara@volvo.com
www.volvotrucks.us.com
