The Renewable Fuels Foundation has awarded seven recipients with the Robert Sather Memorial Scholarships to attend the annual National Ethanol Conference (NEC).

Those receiving scholarships include Jean Claude Mbarushimana, a Virginia Tech graduate student studying agricultural and applied economics. In addition, six members of the Renewable Fuels Association Young Professionals Network will be attending on scholarship: Daehwan Kim, an Assistant Professor of Biology at Hood College; Justin Diehm, Commodity Manager at East Kansas Agri-Energy; Kyle Sonderman, Lab Manager at Show Me Ethanol; Traci Menke, Executive Assistant at Renewable Fuels Nebraska; Jessica Sodeke, Ethanol Program Manager at Nebraska Ethanol Board; and Joe Shanle, Plant Manager, Trenton Agri Products.

Now in its 13th year, the NEC scholarship program was named in honor of Robert “Bob” Sather, an educator who helped found RFA member company Ace Ethanol in Wisconsin. Sather was a longtime Chair of the Renewable Fuels Foundation and the aim of the Bob Sather Memorial Scholarship is to encourage young adults aspiring to a career related to renewable fuels.

The 27th annual National Ethanol Conference takes place February 21-23 in New Orleans and is the nation’s most widely attended executive-level conference for the ethanol industry.