IMAWA Scholarship Award

Joey Manso wins the 2007 Doug Schneider Scholarship

Joey Manso, son of Sal Manso, President of Reebie Storage & Moving, Franklin Park, is the winner of IMAWA's 2007 college scholarship.

Joey is a student at DePaul University in Chicago, studying computer software engineering. He has consistently been on the Dean’s list since he entered the university in 2005 and has been accepted into two National Honor societies. In addition to working very hard as a full-time student, Joey works part time as a software engineer at DePaul to assist with his financial obligations.

Here is an excerpt from a character reference letter written for his scholarship application by the Senior Applications Developer at DePaul: "I have placed responsibility for several of our computer applications in his hands. These applications serve thousands of students, and normally would be assigned to a full-time employee. Joey has proved his ability to maintain these applications…[he] has demonstrated his programming skills, work ethic, and professionalism in our office and I look forward to working with him in the coming years."

Provided he maintains his grade point average, remains a full-time student, and his dad continues as a full-time employee at Reebie, Joey will be eligible for $1,000 per year for up to 4 years. His was one of 20 applications received this year.

The 2007 Scholarship Selection Committee includes Mike Marchese, Blackhawk Moving & Storage, Sycamore; Sue Shippert, Shippert’s Moving & Storage, Dixon (both of whom have been on the selection committee since 1994); Alex Petrusha, Two Men and a Truck Kane/DuPage; and Jeff McClurg, who was the first scholarship winner in 1994.

No members of the committee have any knowledge of the students' names, location, employer affiliation, or other identifying information that may other influence the award. Applications for the 2007 Scholarship were mailed to all members in good standing during November 2006. (Application form also is available at the Members Only section of this website.)

The scholarship is named in memory of Doug Schneider, Bill's Moving & Storage, Rock Island, who passed away on February 27, 2007. As a way of "giving something back," Doug brought the idea of a scholarship for IMAWA families to the board of directors in 1994, and he served on the selection committee until his passing this year. He served as a member of the board of directors from 1989 to 2007 and several years on the executive committee.

Thanks to Doug's foresight, since the IMAWA scholarship began in 1994, IMAWA has assisted 17 students with their college education, totaling (to date) $47,000. Scholarship recipients include:

Jeff McClurg, Federal/Safety Moving & Storage, Waukegan
Marlene Bold, Pickens-Kane Moving & Storage, Chicago
Rebecca Headley, Blackhawk Moving & Storage, Sycamore
Leah McDowell, Associated Transfer & Storage, Champaign
Cynthia Zack, Victory Packaging, Itasca
Cheryl Applebee, Lotz Trucking, Seneca
Kristi Zickert, North Shore Movers, Northbrook
Tim Schmidt, Federal Warehouse Co., Peoria
Kathryn Stovall, Prager Moving & Storage, Naperville
Nathan Applebee, Lotz Trucking, Seneca
Di Liu, Bekins Van Lines, Hillside
Ashley Kehoe, Breda Moving Company, Roselle
Sarah Brennan, Beltmann Group, Carol Stream
Danielle Wiktorowicz, Allied Van Lines, Westmont
Sheryl Rivera, Federal Warehouse Company, Peoria
Michael Mandrell, Kemper Express, Inc., Peoria