VDTA/Bernie Epstein Scholarship Golf Tournament suspended for one year

The board of the Bernie Epstein Scholarship Fund recently held a meeting by teleconference,in which it voted unanimously to suspend the Scholarship Golf Tournament for 2010. Factoring heavily into the decision was the slowed economy and cost saving measures implemented by many suppliers.

“Everyone is trying to minimize their costs as much as possible,” said a long-time industry supplier. “This means cutting back on travel and one of the casualties of this is the pre-show golf tournaments. While still wanting to support charities, companies are reluctant to send their reps in a day early to golf.”

A number of organizations have suspended their tournaments, most recently, the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA).

According to VDTA/SDTA Executive Director Scott Wells, “Participation in the golf tournament was down drastically in 2009. Without full participation, it just makes financial sense to forego the golf tournament this year, and the expenses that go with it, and concentrate on soliciting direct donations for the Epstein Scholarship Fund.”

The VDTA/Bernie Epstein College Scholarship Fund was founded in 1993. It was named after well-known businessman Bernie Epstein of State Vacuum in Tampa, FL. Bernie was quite a philanthropist. He was well known for his community service, his humanitarian ways and his ongoing love of sports.

The purpose of the fund is to assist the youth of association members to attend college. The basic criteria for a recipient are: they must be a dependent of a VDTA/SDTA member or the member’s employees, they must have at least a 2.5 GPA, attend college on a full time basis (12 credit hours or more), have a community service and humanitarian background and be active in sports. The scholarship is worth up to $10,000 over four years.

According to Wells, the VDTA/SDTA awards two scholarships each year that can be renewed for up to four years. Currently VDTA/SDTA is awarding eight scholarships worth a total of $20,000 per year.

For additional information or to make a donation to the Bernie Epstein Scholarship Fund, please contact the association at 1-800-367-5651.

Reprinted from SQE Professional, November 2009