DFI Educational Trust Update Year in Review This past year there was a significant expansion of the Trust’s scholarship programs. Three new scholarship funds were added: the Manuel Fine Civil Engineering Scholarship Fund, the John O’Malley Scholarship Fund and the Francis Gularte Scholarship Fund. The Manuel Golf Outing led by Seth Pearlman, and the 8th Annual Gala Fundraising Dinner, held in November in New Jersey; all of them meeting or exceeding their fundraising goals. In an effort to expand the Trust’s impact, the Trust board David Coleman, Chair [email protected] Underpinning & Foundation Skanska (UFS), an inspiration and mentor to young engineers throughout the construction industry. The 2013 student recipients were Percy Casani, Leslyn Prasad, Jamin Sien and Xue Bing Yeap, who were on hand at the event to receive the scholarship awards from DFI Trust chair, David Coleman. Theodore P. Zoli, III, P.E., national Scholarship recipients (L to R) Percy Casani, Jamin Sien and Leslyn Prasad with Stanley Merjan. (Xue Bing Yeap is missing from the photo) Fine Fund will provide its awards to students in Canadian colleges and universities, and the O’Malley and Gularte Funds will provide funding for students in any college or university within the U.S. These funds are still being developed and will be the subject of targeted fundraising drives in 2014. However, they have received initial donations and pledges totaling more than $150,000. With these new additions, the Trust now administers nine scholarship funds. During 2013, the Trust implemented its At-Large Scholarship program, whereby the Trust’s General Fund made scholarship awards available to student applicants from any college or university in the U.S. Three students were selected from a pool of 42 applicants and a total of $6,000 was awarded. Overall, $90,000 in scholarships was awarded by the Trust in 2013, the highest amount since the Trust’s creation in 2006. During the year, the Trust continued to hold successful fundraising efforts such as the Pleasanton, California Golf Outing, organized by Byrl Williams, the Pittsburgh decided to create a Women in Engineering Program. In addition to establishing a schol- arship, this effort will also look at programs and initiatives that can be implemented to help the recruitment and retention rates of women in the engineering profession. Finally, Mark Rice, an attorney with the California firm of McNeil, Silveira, Rice & Wiley joined the Trust Board as a new trus- tee. We look forward to his participation. As we enter 2014, we are eager to build on the many successes of 2013, expanding the number of students we help and developing new programs to serve them. Annual Gala Dinner On November 7, 2013, the DFI Educational Trust held the Annual Gala Fundraising Dinner at The Liberty House, in Jersey City, N. J. The event, now in its eighth year, raises scholarship funds for undergraduate engineering students at City College of New York (CCNY). Since 2010, the scholarship has been known as the DFI Educational Trust Stanley Merjan Civil Engineering Scholar-ship Fund, in honor of Stanley Mer jan, senior consul tant wi th bridge chief engineer at HNTB, an internationally renowned bridge designer, was the guest speaker. His presentation, “Toward a New Efficiency in Bridge Design,” discussed innovative design ideas and explored them through examples of recently-built bridges. As technical director of HNTB’s bridge practice nationwide, Zoli has led the design of many award-winning bridges throughout the U.S. and abroad. One hundred and forty guests attended this year’s event, which raised over $50,000 in net proceeds, both numbers being record-highs for this event since its inception. For more information on this and other Trust fundraising efforts, please visit the Trust’s website at www.dfitrust.org Golf Outings The DFI Educational Trust California Annual Golf Outing was held on October 29 at Castlewood Country Club in Pleasanton, Calif. Organized by Byrl Williams, vice chairman of the DFI Educational Trust Board, the event was attended by 70 golfers. Our thanks to all participants, sponsors, and donors for their generous support and to Williams for leading this effort over the last eight years. The DFI Educational Trust/ACE NJ Golf Outing was held on October 7 at Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township, N.J. Proceeds from the jointly-organized event benefit the programs of the Trust and the ACE Mentor Program. In its third year, the event receives support from local and national sponsors and participants. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2014 • 43
