Everyone at the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Foundation is saddened by the untimely death of a key member of its board of directors. Car-building legend Boyd Coddington passed away early Wednesday morning, Feb. 27, at a hospital in Whittier, Calif.

Founder of Boyd's Wheels and designer of prize-winning custom cars, Coddington won the prestigious "America's Most Beautiful Roadster" award seven times and was inducted into the Grand National Roadster Show and Street Rod Marketing Alliance Halls of Fame. Boyd set a standard for workmanship and creativity with his popular "Cadzilla" creation, considered a design masterpiece. The customized car, based on a 1950s Cadillac, was built for rocker Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top.

Through his cable TV reality show, "American Hot Rod," Boyd continuously introduced sheet metal work to the mainstream public.

"Boyd joined our board in October, and we were excited about working with this industry guru who so enthusiastically shared his love of metalworking," said FMA Foundation Director Terrence Egan. "Besides being one of the winningest hot rod builders of all time, he was my good friend who constantly amazed me with his creativity. My condolences go out to his wife, Jo, his family, and his employees."

Boyd also supported numerous philanthropic causes through his Boyd Coddington Foundation serving children with disabilities and kids who are terminally ill. He also took under his wing a number of individuals with Down Syndrome, training and employing them in his business.

"Boyd's work with children was an inspiration." said FMA President & CEO Gerald Shankel. "FMA is proud to have been associated with so creative an artisan in our industry, and so generous a philanthropist. We're grateful for his brief time with us."

Boyd, 63, had been hospitalized twice recently for a medical condition, but was thought to have been in recovery.

Funeral services have been set for Wednesday, March 5, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in La Habra, with a reception to follow that afternoon at Boyd Coddington Hot Rods and Collectibles.

ROCKFORD, Ill., Nov. 2007 – Boyd Coddington, James P. Bouchard and Delbert "Del" Mullens were elected to the board of directors of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA) Foundation at the group’s recent annual meeting. Each will serve a two-year term on the 15-member board, which provides governance for the FMA Foundation. 

Coddington is an internationally recognized automotive designer, builder, fabricator in the custom-fabricated hot rod industry. He is best known as the under-the-gun, deadline-stomping star of “American Hot Rod,” a show that airs on TLC, The Learning Channel. He also is owner of the Boyd Coddington Hot Rods and Collectibles based in La Habra, Calif. Coddington’s trademark billet aluminum wheels are a product that launched an industry, and today he continues to introduce sheet metal work, welding and pipe bending to the public.

Bouchard is Chairman and CEO of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation, of Wheeling, W. Va., and Mullens is owner of Wesley Financial Corp. of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

[More]

Hundreds of festival attendees visited the FMA Foundation booth at On the Waterfront in Rockford, Ill., last weekend to view the bobber style motorcycle designed by Matt Hotch, and buy a raffle ticket to try and win that one-of-a-kind cycle. Only one person went home a winner, Lukasz Dubienczuk of Loves Park, Ill.

When the call went out to Dubienczuk from FMA Foundation director, Terrence Egan, he couldn’t believe it was real. “I had to really convince him I wasn’t just a friend who was playing a prank,” Egan said. “Once he realized the call was legitimate, he was thrilled about winning.”

The proceeds from the raffle will be used to fund scholarships for students who are studying to pursue careers in manufacturing. Scholarships are awarded for both college-degree programs and trade school programs. In 2007 twenty-nine scholarships were awarded by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association and its Foundation, totaling more than $125,000.

Based in Rockford, Ill., the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International is a professional organization with more than 2,000 members working together to improve the metal forming and fabricating industry. Founded in 1970, FMA brings metal fabricators and fabricating equipment manufacturers together through technology councils, educational programs, networking events and the FABTECH International/AWS Welding Show. FMA also has a technology affiliate, the Tube & Pipe Association, International (TPA), which focuses on the unique needs of companies engaged in tube and pipe producing and fabricating. Complete information about the FMA can be found at www.fmanet.org. The FMA Foundation is a charitable organization that offers grants to not-for-profit organizations and educational institutions introducing young people to metal forming careers in manufacturing, provides funding to organizations starting or expanding manufacturing camps for youth, and issues scholarships to students at colleges and trade schools pursuing careers in manufacturing. More information on the foundation is available by visiting www.fma-foundation.org.

Twenty-nine high school graduates earned $5,000, $2,000 or $1,500 toward their college or trade school education from the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International (FMA) and its Foundation.

The FMA Foundation scholarships are awarded annually to college- or trade school-bound high school seniors and college students who seek careers in manufacturing. This year, the FMA awarded scholarships totaling $125,500 to 29 students from across the country, the largest contribution ever from the FMA and the Foundation.

Twenty-three students received $5,000 scholarships, three secured $2,000 trade school scholarships and three received $1,500 renewal scholarships. The 2007 winners are:

$5,000 College Scholarships
o William Alan Bishop, Tyty, Ga.
o Brent Burnett, Mason, Ohio
o Jerod Bush, Lima, Ohio
o Zachary Casey, Bay City, Mich.
o Brian Dapore, Versailles, Ohio
o Benjamin Eilerman, Rossburg, Ohio
o Niles Evans, Botkins, Ohio
o Daniel Gipson, Big Rapids, Mich.
o Matthew Gonitzke, Rockford, Ill.
o Paul Hamberg, Coldwater, Ohio
o Zachary Harger, Evansville, Ind.
o Lauren Hockin, Oakville, Ontario
o Son Huynh, Roseville, Minn.
o Craig Jakobsen, Rockford, Ill.
o Adam Koesters, Maria Stein, Ohio
o Kevin Langston, Piqua, Ohio
o Troy Niekamp, Minster, Ohio
o Jameson Price, Glasgow, Ky.
o Emily Schofield, Colleyville, Texas
o Gregory Uhlenhake, Saint Henry, Ohio
o Mackenzie Van Loon, Shelby Township, Mich.
o Corey Vossler, St. Marys, Ohio
o Joe Yurko, Irwin, Pa.

$2,000 Trade School Scholarships
o Andrew Casey, Bay City, Mich.
o Casey Miller, Grove City, Ohio
o Broc Weber, Welcome, Minn.

$1,500 College Scholarship Renewals
o Brent Burnett, Mason, Ohio
o Alexander Miller, Medina, Ohio
o Scott Renninger, Manheim, Pa.

To be eligible, applicants were required to be full-time students with a minimum 3.0 GPA (for a college scholarship) or a 2.0 GPA (for a trade/technical school scholarship) enrolled in an engineering or manufacturing-related course of study, or a trade or technical program that may lead to a career in manufacturing. Students were responsible for submitting academic records and an engineering or manufacturing-related program description with each application.

Matthew Hotch, Bryan Hawkins, Cynthia VanderWaal, Marcia Arndt and Jeffrey Knauf were elected to the board of directors of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association(FMA) Foundation at the group’s recent annual meeting. Each will serve a two-year term on the nine-member board, which provides governance for the activities, affairs and property of the FMA Foundation.

Hotch, who has been featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Biker Build-Off” show, is president of Matt Hotch Designs, a custom motorcycle business based in Fullerton, Calif. VanderWaal is sales and marketing manager for Roper Whitney, Inc., of Rockford, Ill., and Arndt is dean of manufacturing technology at Moraine Park Technical College in West Bend, Wis.

New members Hawkins and Knauf are the presidents of Hawkeye Industries, Inc., of Tupelo, Miss., and of Medalist Laserfab, Inc., of Oshkosh, Wis., respectively.

The FMA Foundation and Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs Foundation were featured on NAM’s radio program, America's Business with Mike Hambrick.

America’s Business a new one-hour radio program that delves deep into the issues that shape manufacturing and business in the United States and abroad. John Ratzenberger and Terrence Egan were successful in talking about the skills gap in the industry as well as the manufacturing camps the two organizations have funded together.