ATHOL — Applications for North Quabbin Cruisers’ scholarships are available for students interested in an automotive career after high school.
Applications can be picked up from the guidance departments of the following schools: Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, Franklin County Technical School, Athol High School, Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School, Quabbin Regional High School and Narragansett Regional High School.
Applications can also be obtained from any North Quabbin Cruiser member, or by contacting NQC Club President Robert Harris at 978-544-3426.
NQC Secretary Cindy Houle said the scholarships are not limited to students at these schools, though the club prefers to keep scholarship awards as local as possible. She said students from as far away as New York have applied.
Houle said the number of awarded scholarships and the amount of money bestowed varies every year based on the number of applications submitted and how much cash is generated, though a scholarship is usually at least $500.
“We don’t have an endowment or a trust fund. We have to draw the money from what we earn every year, what we bring in,” she said. The deadline to submit applications is April 1.
North Quabbin Cruisers is a car club for mostly local automobile enthusiasts. The club hosts Cruise Night every Wednesday in the Market Basket parking lot at North Quabbin Commons in Athol. People bring classic or antique cars to show off to spectators.
Paul Mennett, who hosts “Cruisin’ New England” on NESN and publishes a magazine of the same name, hosted the show in August and helped pick three vehicles out of a pool of 275 to compete for awards in the Super Wheels Showdown in Boston’s City Hall Plaza on Oct. 1.
Houle said NQC provides automotive scholarships to encourage young people to enter the field, so car shows and the art of car repair don’t go extinct.