AFTA Establishes Charlie Reiter Memorial Award Scholarship at UACCM

The Arkansas Fayetteville Shale Transporter Association (AFTA) recently established a $3,000 scholarship for students in the petroleum technology program at the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton The scholarship was established through a gift to the UACCM Foundation in memory of Charlie Reiter who was employed at Southwestern Energy (SWN) as a Desoto Field Completion Manager for the past seven years until his death in January 2012.
(UACCM)

Reiter was a respected member of the oil and natural gas community and was awarded the President’s Bottom Line Impact Award from SWN in October 2011.  As an employee of SWN, one of AFTA’s member organizations, Reiter was recognized as someone who considered safety as a high priority, and that characteristic fits closely with AFTA’s mission to promote safety on the roads.   AFTA Board President Rod Krug said, “Charlie didn't just talk safety, he believed everything revolved around safety.” Krug added, “Charlie embraced our efforts and successes.”
AFTA’s board worked closely with Reiter’s wife, Marilyn Reiter, to establish the scholarship in his memory.  Marilyn Reiter said, “I am honored that AFTA chose Charlie for this award.”  Marilyn Reiter, as well as many of Charlie’s friends and colleagues, remember him as an exceptional leader with a work ethic matched by few, and the criteria for the newly established scholarship calls for the same characteristics in a recipient.  Krug recalled, “He was a mentor to many new people in our industry, and his ideals and character will carry on for many years through the people he touched.”  And now, they will also carry on through AFTA’s Charlie Reiter Memorial Award.  Applications for this award are currently available, and the first award will be made in the amount of $1,500 for the 2013 spring semester.  The scholarship is renewable one time, and AFTA plans to continue the gift on an annual basis.
AFTA was founded in 2009 to bring together trucking, production, and service companies working in the Fayetteville Shale Play in central Arkansas who want to promote safety in the workplace and improve community relations in the area.  Activities of AFTA are of a voluntary nature, and their member companies, drivers, and others associated with AFTA participate together to improve their communities.  AFTA’s members give freely of their time, money, and resources in order to help Arkansas become a leader in safety and environmental responsibility.
The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton greatly appreciates the support from partners in the petroleum technology industry and scholarships such as this one are crucial to the success of the program and students.   For more information about this scholarship or the UACCM Foundation contact Development Officer Morgan Zimmerman at 501-977-2085 or Zimmerman@uaccm.edu.