For some 60 years the Dresser-Rand Employees Scholarship has provided scholarship awards for the children of Olean-based Dresser-Rand employees to pursue a post-secondary education.

Recently, the Dresser-Rand Employee Trust Association decided to move the scholarship fund under management of the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, which manages some 70 scholarship funds and makes possible over 100 annual scholarship awards for area students.

The Dresser-Rand Employees Scholarship Fund will provide annual scholarships to students who are the children of employees of Dresser-Rand/Siemens Energy. Eligibility will be determined by a minimum 12-month employment status at the Olean, NY, campus as of February 2, 2021.

The scholarship is available to anyone who is a child of a Dresser-Rand employee meeting the scholarship’s criteria, regardless of the student’s school. The award amount and number of awards each year will vary.

Students can apply beginning February 1 at cattfoundation.org/apply-for-scholarships.

The scholarship fund was originally established in 1955 as the “Clark Brothers Welfare Fund” in the name of the Clark Brothers Company which preceded Dresser-Rand after moving to Olean in 1912.

The fund has since provided more than $1.5 million in scholarship aid to the children of Dresser employees.

CRCF management of the fund will not only allow for the impact for Dresser employees’ families, said Craig Maguire, Dresser-Rand Employees Trust Association official, but it is also about preserving a scholarship fund that was built and maintained entirely by Dresser-Rand employees.

“The trust was established by the employees to provide a payment for education and death benefits (flowers and memorials) to its Olean members and their dependents,” said Maguire. “The trust was funded entirely by the employees and managed by a committee of Dresser-Rand employees.”

The employees trust fund was diligently managed by Community Bank for a number of years, said Maguire.

“With the impending closure of the factories at the Olean campus and reduction in workforce, the board of trustees wanted to protect and grow the assets of the Trust,” he added. “CRCF’s experience and professional approach will be a perfect match to continue the mission of our scholarship program… It was very important to see the [fund’s] tradition continue and keep the legacy of the hard-working employees of Dresser-Rand alive for many more generations.”

For CRCF, the opportunity to manage the scholarship fund is just as meaningful, said CRCF Executive Director Karen Niemic Buchheit.

“The employees of Dresser-Rand have given so much to our community for over 100 years,” said Buchheit. “It is an honor for CRCF to be able to continue the legacy of those employees and support the members of their family.”

As an endowment fund, the scholarship is designed to last in perpetuity and will be invested for growth, said Buchheit. If there should be no more children of Dresser-Rand employees to receive the scholarship, it will be open to grandchildren or even great grandchildren one day.

“It is only fitting that this scholarship be around for many, many years to come to honor the impact that Dresser-Rand and its employees have had on the greater Olean and Cattaraugus County region,” said Buchheit.

Donations can be made to the Dresser-Rand Employees Scholarship Fund at CRCF, 301 North Union St., Olean, NY 14760 or online at cattfoundation.org

The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation is the area’s supportive, responsive and trusted community foundation. Established in 1994, CRCF is growing good by connecting donors to the causes they care about most in the region. Grants from the foundation support many areas, including education, scholarships, health care, the arts, community development, human service, and youth development. To learn more, call (716) 301-CRCF (2723), email [email protected], or visit online at www.cattfoundation.org. CRCF is also on Facebook (facebook.com/cattfoundation) and Twitter (@CattFoundation).