Scholarships honor late AVRWC GM (July 9, 2015)
Water company, High Desert Underground donate $7.5k
Apple Valley Ranchos Water Co. and High Desert Underground last week announced the establishment of the Scott Weldy SCADA Scholarship
for graduating seniors at Granite Hills High School to begin the 2015-2016 school year.
Scott Weldy, former vice president and general manager of Ranchos, died in 2014. Weldy worked closely with the System Control and Design Academy (SCADA) teachers and was instrumental in developing the program and curriculum.
Scott was a technical engineer and loved communicating with people, especially students, about the complexities of operating a water system like the one at Ranchos,
said Terri Brown, SCADA coordinator at Granite Hills High School. In fact, the idea for SCADA began with Scott and next year we expect to have 160 students enrolled in the academy.
Brown said that Scott Weldy was particularly passionate about teaching young people about the soft skills
like being punctual, dressing appropriately, managing deadlines, resolving misunderstandings and knowing how to speak and communicate effectively.
Scott was always looking for ways to give back to the community of Apple Valley and was passionate about the education of young people and providing them opportunities and I know he would be thrilled to be remembered in this way,
said Kim Weldy, Scott’s wife.
SCADA is directed to students who are looking for a hands-on approach to learning and career application. The goal is to encourage these students throughout their high school experience to take their education seriously and embrace the vision that education is the pathway to opportunity after graduation from high school.
The partnership with local businesses like High Desert Underground and Ranchos is giving these students the opportunity to become productive members of the community and that is one of our goals for this program,
said Chuck McCall, Granite Hills principal.
Derrick Sandwick, owner of HDU, said his company is looking forward to lending help to the scholarships.
Scott led the way for the rest of us to follow and that’s why High Desert Underground is pleased to take part in funding this important work to create opportunities for our students,
Sandwick said.
We’re proud of Scott’s legacy to this community and the young people at GHHS and we are hopeful many of these students will consider a career in the water industry,
said Tony Penna, Ranchos’ vice president and general manager. This $7,500 donation is a good start but Derrick and I hope other local businesses will consider making donations to SCADA at GHHS.
The annual scholarship will be awarded to those graduating seniors who completed the SCADA curriculum and intend to pursue higher education or a vocation in engineering, environmental science or a technical position within the water industry. The scholarship will be administered by GHHS each year.
Scott Weldy was a 17-year employee of Ranchos. A ceremony with Ranchos Water employees, McCall and Brown took place on the one year anniversary of Scott’s death.
There’s no doubt Scott had a passion for SCADA and was instrumental in creating the program at GHHS,
Dan Harley, a longtime friend and previous employer said. I look forward to doing my part to keep making his dreams for this program a success.
For more information on the scholarship or SCADA programs, contact Brown at 760-961-2290.
Source: Apple Valley Review, applevalley-review.com/scholarships-honor-late-ranchos-gm