Moline, IL - After receiving a record 86 applications, the ARA Foundation Scholarship Committee selected 24 students for $41,000 in scholarships for the upcoming academic year. All the recipients are planning future careers in the equipment rental industry. The scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 each, are being awarded to students attending technical/vocational schools, community colleges, undergraduate colleges and graduate schools.

The Foundation board of trustees and scholarship committee awarded several additional undergraduate and graduate scholarships this year, since the quality of applicants was high and additional funds were available from the 2008 and 2009 auctions benefiting the Foundation during The Rental Show.

Scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement, leadership, rental industry involvement, written essays on rental-related questions and references. Applicants must be associated with the rental industry as an owner, manager or employee of a rental operation or manufacturer/supplier of rental equipment, or their family members.

Ryan Ponikvar of Sun Rental Center, Mentor, OH, was selected for the ARA Insurance Services Scholarship of $3,000, the top scholarship award. He will be a junior at the University of Cincinnati and is pursuing a degree in finance. His grandfather, Larry Felice, and great-uncle, Tom Felice, own Sun Rental Center.

Recipients of ARA Foundation undergraduate scholarships of $2,000 each are: