2020 PCI-Nordson Ken Kreeger Scholarship Award
Nordson is proud to give back to the local communities in which we serve. We partner with the Powder Coating Institute (PCI), a non-profit organization that represents the North American powder coating industry.
PCI and Nordson renamed an existing $5,000 scholarship in 2018 to honor Ken Kreeger, who had more than 40 years of powder coating experience. Ken was an advocate and mentor to many individuals within the powder coating industry. He was inducted into the PCI Hall of Fame on his first nomination. The PCI/Nordson Ken Kreeger scholarship is funded by the Nordson BUILDS Scholarship program. The program was established to lessen the financial cost associated with post-secondary education for students who live near our facilities within the United States. The qualifying students must attend a trade school, community college or university for a major related to manufacturing.
On Wednesday, September 23 the PCI/Nordson Ken Kreeger scholarship was presented to Dakota Weinman in front of a socially distant, Nordson University powder coating classroom. Dakota Weinman is a senior at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, double majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Dakota is a well-rounded student athlete, dedicating his time to the varsity swim team, he is Vice President of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Ohio Rho, and the CWRU Wakeboarding club. As of last semester he had earned a 3.29 cumulative GPA and is described as an “exceptional leader” by Michael Dolsak, Vice President of Health Sciences Development at Case Western. Dakota has completed two internships and hopes to eventually learn more about powder coating.
During the award ceremony, we were honored by the attendance of Ken Kreeger’s wife, Kathy Kreeger, and one of his three sons, Erik Kreeger. Greg Dawson, senior sales manager for powder; Sue Ivancic, sales administrator and PCI board member; and Teddy Piepkow, powder sales manager were also on hand to present the award to Dakota. As the award was being presented, Greg Dawson, shared a few powerful quotes from Mr. Kreeger himself, to not only motivate the students in the classroom, but to also show the audience how impactful his friend was to the entire powder coating industry. Greg stated, “Ken was known as the ‘Powder Pope’ to most and an incredible mentor to me throughout my career. Ken’s philosophy was simple, he had four rules to live by:
- 1. Be better today than yesterday.
- 2. Learn one new thing every day.
- 3. Take what you learn and share it.
- 4. "Knowledge is power, sharing your knowledge is your legacy.”
We are honored that Ken Kreeger’s lessons and legacy can live on through this award. If you have a potential recipient in mind, encourage them to visit the Powder Coating Institute Scholarship Program webpage to learn how to apply.
About Nordson ICS - Industrial Coating Systems Division
Founded in 1954 to produce and market airless spray equipment, today manufacturers rely on our equipment for the precise application and curing of powder coatings, liquid paint, ambient temperature adhesives and sealants, and food and beverage container production. Our solutions help our customers improve their manufacturing process, produce better products and become even more competitive. We do this by combining in-depth knowledge, world-leading technical expertise and precise, performance enhancing production solutions for some of the world’s most demanding and diverse manufacturing environments.
We offer world leading application and curing equipment for powder coating, liquid spray painting, container coating, automotive applications, battery applications and precision dispensing for various application needs. Visit Nordson ICS on the web at Nordson Website, Twitter Profile, Facebook Profile and LinkedIn Profile.
About Nordson Corporation
Nordson engineers, manufactures, and markets differentiated products and systems used for dispensing and processing adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants and biomaterials; and for managing fluids, testing and inspecting for quality, treating surfaces and curing. These products are supported with extensive application expertise and direct global sales and service.
We serve a wide variety of consumer non-durable, consumer durable and technology end markets including packaging, nonwovens, electronics, medical, appliances, energy, transportation, building and construction, and general product assembly and finishing. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, the company has operations and support offices in more than 30 countries. Visit Nordson on the web at Nordson Website, twitter.com/Nordson_Corp or facebook.com/nordson.