Zeigler Awards $100,000 in Scholarships to Employees & Their Families for the Second Year in a Row

KALAMAZOO, Mich., May 14, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today Zeigler Auto Group announced that it will once again award a total of $100,000 in scholarships through its Zeigler Family Scholarship Program.The scholarship program, now in its second year, is open to employees, their family members and/or dependents.

"Our goal at Zeigler has always been to take care of our employees, their families and our communities. It brings me, and I know the rest of our team, great joy to be able to invest in tomorrow's leaders today," said Aaron Zeigler, president and owner of Zeigler Auto Group.

Recipients were chosen by the Zeigler Family Scholarship committee which took into consideration each applicant's academic and personal accomplishments, extracurricular activities and financial need. The committee decided to award scholarships to eleven students this year; with nine receiving $10,000, and the remaining $10,000 split evenly among two siblings: Kelli and Kevin Jordan.

Zeigler Family Scholarship 2020 Winners:

• Catherine Austin, 20, University of Wisconsin-Platteville: Agribusiness & Accounting (Jeff Austin, Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates)
• Denver Borst, 18, Lakeshore High School, Grand Valley State University: Business (Steve Borst, Zeigler Plainwell Ford)
• Zachary Cardis, 18, Lowell High School, Davenport University: Business, Marketing, Sales (Jason Cardis, Zeigler Ford of Lowell)
• Kelli Jordan, 19, Lincoln-Way East High School, Juliet Junior College: Psychology (Tom Jordan – BMW Orland Park)
• Kevin Jordan,17, Lincoln-Way East High School, Ohio State University: Business Administration (Tom Jordan – BMW Orland Park)
• Camden Kalleward, 20, University of Michigan: Business (Beth Kalleward, Zeigler Auto Group)
• Bryan O'Connor, 21, Western Michigan University: Biological Sciences (Michelle Hill, Zeigler Ford of Elkhart & Zeigler Motorsports)
• Konnor McLeod, 19Michigan State University Broad College of Business - Marketing, Sales
• Andrew Miller, 26, University of Michigan, University of Colorado: Business Masters (Sustainability/Entrepreneurship) (Bruce Miller, Zeigler Auto Group)
• Amanda Pflaumer, 20, Elmhurst College: Criminal Justice, Pre-Law (Scott Pflaumer, Zeigler Schaumburg CDJ)
• Michael Shumaker, 18, Gull Lake High School, Grand Valley State University: Computer Science (Jeff Shumaker Zeigler Honda of Kalamazoo)

Awardees are required to attend a 4-year or 2-year university, college or trade school in the fall term following their acceptance of the scholarship. Winners from 2019 have gone on to attend University of Illinois, Michigan State University, Loyola University, Lake Superior University, as well as various trade schools and community colleges.

Aside from this scholarship program, Zeigler also offers employees training through a number of internal programs like its Zeigler University Speaker Series in order to help provide them with a clear path to promotions. In 2019 alone, the dealership group has promoted over 150 employees to new positions, with many staying with the company for a number of years.

Zeigler also announced last month that the dealer group will be covering 100% of their health care costs for the month of May and June for all of its employees who were currently working at the time, or for those who were scheduled to come back to work by May 1, 2020.

Under the new program, Zeigler's hourly employees would also receive a $10 per hour increase in pay for the next 8 weeks starting May 1, with the average hourly employee rate at around $15 per hour. Additionally, also for the next 8 weeks starting May 1, all flat rate techs throughout the organization will be guaranteed 40 hours per week; and all commissioned sales reps will receive an additional $400 per week.

"I think we have an awesome plan out there. I think what we are doing is absolutely unprecedented, I don't think any other organization has done this but we are in unprecedented times too. And we want to be a leader in the industry moving forward and make sure that all of our employees are taken care of, and that they are happy, safe and healthy," said Zeigler.

ABOUT ZEIGLER AUTOMOTIVE GROUP
Zeigler Automotive Group is one of the largest privately-owned dealer groups in the nation with 75 franchises and 30 locations in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Vehicle brands represented include all of the domestic and the majority of the imported manufacturers.

Founded in 1975, the company ranks among the top 1% of automotive dealers in the U.S., and has earned recognition for its commitment to both customer service and employee satisfaction. Recently, Zeigler Automotive Group was named one of the 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation and regularly appears in regional lists for Illinois and Michigan.

SOURCE Zeigler