AIM's Melody Smith receives CAWA Scholarship

The California/Nevada Automotive Wholesalers Association (CAWA) has awarded a $1,000 scholarship from its Memorial Scholarship Fund to Melody Smith, a technical support assistant for AIM. The scholarship is intended for those pursuing continuing education opportunities within the automotive aftermarket industry.

Smith also was honored with an additional $250 as the unanimous recipient of the Mort Schwartz Scholarship. According to CAWA President and CEO Rodney K. Pierini: "This honor is given to the top scholarship candidate who stood above the rest and is named after one of the founders of the CAWA Memorial Scholarship Program and a past chairman of the organization, Mort Schwartz."

"We applaud Melody for receiving this well-deserved industry recognition," adds Chris Love, AIM's national sales and marketing manager. "Melody is a mother of four children and works 40 hours a week in technical support for AIM, and does a fabulous job troubleshooting and diagnosing customer related issues with regard to starters and alternators.  In addition to her scheduled workload, she still finds time to further her industry knowledge by attending seminars, teaching clinics, and taking classes at Sierra College three nights per week."

Smith is currently pursuing automotive studies at Sierra College in Rocklin, California. She recently began her employment at AIM, after working for a small franchised car repair facility that provided mechanical service to customers.

Preference for the CAWA Memorial Scholarship Fund Award is given to candidates that are high school seniors or college undergraduates enrolled in a college level or vocational program and pursuing a degree or accreditation in the automotive aftermarket. Candidates have to be sponsored by a CAWA member and their permanent residence and/or school must be located in the states of California or Nevada. For more information on CAWA, visit the organization's Web site.