ARA SCHOLARSHIPS
Mark Buessing Remembered for His Dedication and Passion to Succeed
M
ark Buessing, ARA Past President, 1999, was President of the ARA Scholarship
Foundation since 2006 and his contribu- tion made a lasting impact not only to those recipients who may never have met him, but to those who worked closely with him and loved him dearly. Buessing passed away suddenly on October 11, 2014, while attending the Arizona Auto Recyclers Association’s annual fundraiser. “Mark was a charismatic leader at
ARA, as President of the ARA Scholarship Foundation,” said Chuck Ossenkop, committee member. “His enthusiasm and genuine humor made you want to listen and to not disappoint. That is an excellent measure of a leader in my opinion. As a person, he loved to engage people – I remember walking up at the ARA convention exhibition hall exit where attendees were waiting for a bus. What was Mark doing? He was conducting an impromptu sing along – everyone was having a great time. If you were enjoying a bad mood – don’t rub up to Mark, he was going to ruin it for you. “Working with Mark was productive and fun. As Chair, he solicit- ed comment, discussion, and produced decisions. What more could you ask for? He invited and encouraged individual contribu- tion to the committee’s work and gave those contributing a listen- ing ear and due consideration. If there was a hole to be filled, such as talking to vendors for contributions to our fundraisers, he was there to do it. He gave a lot of his time and effort, we all know how hard both are to come by.” Linda Pitman, committee member, echoes the praise for Mark. “Mark was great to work with,” she said. “The thing that made him so perfect for the ARA Scholarship Foundation, especially in his role as President, was that he was the best fundraiser of anyone I’ve ever known. He was excellent at getting money and getting people to participate.”
As you can see from the list of Scholarship Recipients on page 60,
Mark’s work over the last eight years impacts the future of many in the industry. Because the scholarships go to children of employees of automotive recycling facilities, this impact isn’t on the top level of leadership in the industry – it goes to the hard working people who dedicate their lives to work inside these facilties. Their children are assisted with monetary scholarships to help lift the burden of buy- ing books or paying for expenses for continuing education. Mark, along with his dedicated committee, understood the impact that this fund has on the lives and moral of auto recycling families, and worked hard to raise the money to make sure as many students as possible were helped. The committee is continuing the work, but will certainly miss Mark Buessing as they move forward.
58 Automotive Recycling | March-April 2015
“I just completed my first semester of my sopho- more year,” she said. “I ended it with two A’s and two B’s and 3.462 GPA. I took 13 credits. Next semester I am finishing the rest of my generals. I will be taking 16 credits. I also applied for my major’s program in February (dental hygiene) so that was a huge step. I would like to thank you again for granting me this scholarship! It has helped and I greatly appreciate it.” Sharon Dutton, of Sylvia’s Auto Parts, Inc. is another parent who has benefitted from the ARA Scholarship Foundation. Two of her daughters have been awarded scholarships, one receiving four schol- arships. She says that she is grateful.
“As a parent of two daughters who have received scholarships through the ARA Scholarship Foundation and an employee of an ARA member, I cannot begin to express my gratitude,” she said. ”Not only has the scholarship helped us financially to fur- ther their education, but it has given my daughters the recognition they deserve for their hard work and dedication to their learning.”
“Receiving this scholarship allows me to focus more on my education than worrying about where the money for books and schooling is coming from,” said Nicole Dutton. “I am very grateful for this scholarship, and knowing that the ARA foundation has continued to recognize my hard work makes me continue to strive for success in my academic career. Thank you once again!”
“I just wanted to thank the ARA Foundation for giv- ing me this scholarship,” Brittany Dutton said. “It makes me really happy that people are recognizing my hard work, and I am truly grateful for this. Receiving this scholarship makes me less stressed with worrying about taking out loans and trying to make all of the payments for the following academic semesters. Thank you once again for this amazing opportunity.” Jessica Johnson, a junior at Eastern Illinois University, is the daughter of Sherri Johnson, Mack’s Auto Recycling, has received three scholarships. “I am currently studying early childhood education,” said Johnson. “I plan that in the future I can work as a teacher from preschool through first grade. Since high school, I have also continued my softball career in college by playing on the EIU club softball team.” Chuck’s Auto Salvage in Pennsylvania currently has two recipients, daughters of James Komand. Nicole is a junior at Alvernia University and has received multiple awards. “I study social work and in my past two years at Alvernia, I have been on the Dean’s list once with a grade point average of 3.7,” said Nicole Komand. “I attended Brandywine Heights High School where I played softball for all four years. I have been working at
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76