ERMCO Plays Key Role in 2010/11 ACE Mentor Program
Monday, May 23, 2011 at 11:46AM 
The ACE Mentor Program of Indiana held it’s Sixth Annual Scholarship Dinner on May 11, 2011 at the Indianapolis Colts Practice Pavilion. The ACE Program of Indiana is an exciting organization committed to the future of high school students. Through mentoring throughout the school year, ACE encourages them to learn about and pursue careers in the Architecture, Construction and Engineering industry. Teams of students from various central Indiana high schools are matched up with volunteer mentors representing all aspects of the construction industry. The teams are given a specific assignment to design and plan for the construction of a chosen project. The teams meet throughout the school year culminating in a presentation of their final plan by the students at the ACE Dinner.
Angela Cain, Community Affairs Director for WTHR-TV once again served as Mistress of Ceremonies. The audience of over 500, including students, parents, mentors, sponsors, Board Members and guests, first heard an inspirational message from Keynote Speaker Matt Gutwein, President and CEO of the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County. Along with many interesting historical facts concerning the construction industry, Matt told the students that by pursuing a career as architects, engineers and contractors, they had an opportunity to shape the future of the world and that they could not choose a better profession in which to make a difference. Mr. Gutwein’s address was followed by dinner, after which each of the high school teams made their presentations. This year’s teams included George Washington Community High School, North Central High School, Decatur Central High School, Arsenal Technical High School, and Pike High School.
In addition to the mentoring programs, ACE also provides scholarships to many of the students to assist them in their pursuit of careers in design and construction. In just six years, the ACE Program has awarded $221,000 in scholarships, including $45,000 at this year’s program. ERMCO is extremely proud to be involved in this program. We have provided funding for scholarships for several years. This year, ERMCO was a Named Scholarship Sponsor, providing a $4,000 scholarship which was presented to Decatur Central High School student, Gustavo Romo. In addition to the scholarship funding, some of ERMCO’s team members have served as Mentors to the program. This year, Adam Rude, Director of Construction Services and Abe Hundt, CAD Services Specialist, served as mentors to the George Washington High School student team. In addition to meeting with the students throughout the year to help plan their project, Adam and Abe also hosted meetings at ERMCO to provide the students a hands-on experience in energy management and P.V. Panel installation and analysis.
We are also pleased to announce that Adam Rude has recently been named to the ACE Mentor Program of Indiana Board of Directors. We are proud to have Adam representing ERMCO as a member of this Board. This is another example of his continued commitment to the development of the future work force of our industry. In addition to his involvement with ACE, Adam is a member of the Indiana Youth in Construction Committee and serves as Chairman of the NECA Central Indiana Chapter Student Liaison Committee for 2011/2012.
ERMCO is proud to play an integral role in the ACE Mentor Program and looks forward to our continued participation in this worthy program. If you are a member of the construction industry and would like more information about becoming involved in the ACE program, please contact Adam Rude at 317-780-2923.
