LOS ANGELES (Aug. 2, 2011) — AECOM Technology Corporation announced today that it has pledged US$250,000 toward the Seabee Memorial Scholarship Association (SMSA) Capital Campaign. This pledge is the lead gift in the campaign and is the first major corporate pledge.
SMSA is a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to the children and grandchildren of naval Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) officers and enlisted Seabees. The CEC and Seabees are both divisions of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC).
For SMSA’s Capital Campaign, the company has made an initial donation of US$100,000 and will make three additional US$50,000 donations over the next three years. The pledge may be used for as many as seven named scholarships. Each scholarship provides US$2,000 per year for a four-year educational period.
AECOM’s history has been intertwined with NAVFAC, the CEC and the Seabees for almost 100 years. One of the first founding firms of AECOM was Frederic R. Harris Inc., a company started by Rear Admiral Frederic R. Harris who became chief of NAVFAC’s predecessor organization, the Bureau of Yards and Docks, just before World War I. The Seabees were created during World War II to build support facilities needed in advanced combat zones, as well as to defend those facilities afterward, if necessary.
“We are proud to have the opportunity to give back to the Seabees, the CEC and NAVFAC,” said Thomas Dickmann, AECOM vice president, and former Seabee. “Several of us, such as John M. Dionisio, AECOM president and CEO; Jane Chmielinski, AECOM executive vice president and chief corporate officer; and Fred Werner, AECOM executive vice president, Business Lines, began our AECOM story with Frederic R. Harris.
“Some of the most innovative projects AECOM has ever done have been for NAVFAC and our relationship continues on today.”
The pledge was authorized by John M. Dionisio, president and CEO of AECOM. Captain Brian Smith, member of the SMSA Board of Directors, and Captain Joe Leahy, Executive Director of the Campaign for SMSA, made a presentation to Mr. Dionisio at AECOM headquarters in May 2011.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
