BBIA scholarship presentation strengthens workforce
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – 15 local students received $1,000 scholarships Monday to further their educations in the construction field.
The Bay Builders Industries Association presented the scholarships to help fill an important need.
'So to receive a scholarship, you have to be pursuing a further education or a career in the construction industry. And it's so important in this area, especially that we grow and support students who want to stay in Bay County and support our industry and help build incredible homes that we all get to build and live in,' Coastal Classic Homes President Brian Knox said.
The BBIA has given away $188,000 worth of scholarships over the last 10 years to more than 200 students.
The majority of this year's recipients plan to attend or already attend Haney Technical College.
'We are thrilled that BBIA offers this scholarship to our students each and every year. It's beneficial not only to my students but to our community, because at Haney, we actually build the workforce. We have construction programs, we have refactoring programs, all of which become employees of the members of BBIA,' Haney Technical College Director Angela Reese said.
Reese said it's rewarding to see the full cycle of the scholarship program with many former recipients graduating from Haney this month.
'Several previous BBIA scholarship recipients will be graduating this time. In fact, this is Haney's largest graduating class in history, so we're very proud of that,' Reese added.
The association raises the scholarship money each year during the Parade of Homes.
'These are funded through the sale of our scholarship home. This is a feature home that we build every year as part of our annual parade of homes, and our industry partners from around Bay County. They donate their time, their materials, and we build an incredible home that we sell. And the funds from that, a portion of the funds from that, go to fund these scholarships,' Knox said.
This year's scholarship home is located in Southport. The BBIA will unveil it on June 4th to kick off the annual Parade of Homes event.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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