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By Caryn Smith Meet Ed MacDonald President, Scholarship Education Foundation E

d MacDonald is a name you probably recognize, as a Past President of ARA (2014-15) and regular attendee of global industry meetings and gatherings. In his current post-ARA executive committee role as President of the ARA Scholarship Founda- tion, MacDonald feels his volunteer ser- vice to the Foundation is as important as any other, maybe even more so. He is a fi rm believer in empowering the next generation to succeed – and not only succeed but to ignite change – especially those in this industry. “Education is the keystone of any society and the more we contribute to the growth and educational develop- ment of our youth, the more successful we are as a society. For our ARA scholarships, of course, the funds come from generous automotive recyclers and associated busi- nesses – our members and partners who have constantly and consistently contributed. But the beautiful part is the re- cipients are the industry’s family members, the bright and deserv- ing youth whose parents work in our businesses, every day.” The ARA Scholarship Founda- tion is a non-profi t organization

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whose purpose is to promote education through the awarding of scholarships annually to students on the basis of academic achievement. The Automotive Re- cyclers Association maintains the Scholarship Foun- dation for the benefi t of members and the profes- sional automotive recycling industry (see page 52 for this year’s list of recipients).

MacDonald believes that more than just supporting our industry’s youth for their sec- ondary and trade education, that one should think outside the box and educate them on our business, too. “Why not invite the youth of your staff to your facility and demonstrate to them the uniqueness of our industry and that we require a full spectrum of talented, educated people in many educational disciplines.” MacDonald himself has re- ceived much and seen much in the industry he has served since fi rst buying his busi- ness in Nova Scotia in 1987. “I’ve witnessed so much change. I believe that you can- not possibly identify only one item that has positively affect- ed our industry,” says MacDonald. “We are for- tunate to be composed of very

March-April 2018 • AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING

Two industry veterans never tire of serving the automotive recycling community they love.