Applications for the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund are available online.

Students preparing for careers in the automotive industry may be eligible to receive financial awards ranging from $1,000–$4,000 through the 2012 SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund (SMSF). Scholarship applications require college transcripts and letters of recommendation and are now available.

Since the fund’s inception in 1984, more than $1.5 million in scholarships have been awarded to more than 600 students engaged in studies leading to careers in the automotive specialty-equipment market or related fields.

Unlike financial aid and student loans, the SEMA Memorial Scholarship is a one-time award that does not have to be paid back. Awards are granted to eligible applicants based on academic achievements, work experience, community involvement, essay content and recommendations.

A loan-forgiveness award is also available to recent graduates who are working for SEMA-member companies and paying off existing student loans. Details and applications for scholarships and loan-forgiveness awards are available at www.SEMA.org/scholarships.

Winners will be notified in the summer of 2012. Scholarship payments are sent directly to the student’s college, university, trade or vocational school to help offset the cost of tuition. Loan-forgiveness payments are sent directly to the financial institutions.

For additional information, contact Juliet Marshall at 909-978-6655.

SEMA Hall of Fame member and devoted industry volunteer Dick Van Cleve passed away after a long illness.

Dick Van Cleve passed away on October 20, 2011, at the West Los Angeles Veteran’s Administration Hospital after a long illness. He had just celebrated his 80th birthday, surrounded by family, approximately two weeks prior.

Van Cleve served as SEMA’s vice president of marketing in the late ’80s and was inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also a devoted SEMA and Performance Warehouse Association (PWA) volunteer and was instrumental in the success of the SEMA Golf Tournament as a fundraising event for the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Foundation.

In addition to Van Cleve’s dedication to these industry associations, he was the owner of Van Cleve & Associates, a marketing and advertising firm based in Valley Village, California. Earlier in his career, Van Cleve was lauded as a top advertising representative for Car Craft magazine and eventually became publisher of its parent, Hot Rod.

Van Cleve is survived by his children John, Karen and Craig, and their families, including granddaughters Jessika, Andrea, Megan and Tara, as well as great grandchildren Sage, Jewel and Violet. He was preceded in death by his son Mark and granddaughter Stacie Van Cleve.

Louis L. Borick, founder and longtime president and chairman of the board of Superior Industries International, passed away in November of natural causes.

Louis L. Borick, founder and longtime president and chairman of the board of Superior Industries International, passed away Monday, November 28, 2011. He was 87.

Borick died of natural causes two days before his 88th birthday at his home in Beverly Hills, California, said his son Steven.

Louis Borick built Superior Industries from a small automotive accessories distributor in 1957 to a major aluminum road-wheel supplier servicing automotive manufacturers worldwide. He had been on the company’s board of directors since 1958, serving as chairman until 2007. He was chief executive officer for Superior until January 2005.

“Louis was a good man whose efforts and entrepreneurial spirit were great assets to the wheel industry as a whole,” said former SEMA President Chuck Blum. “His foresight and contributions helped make the aluminum wheel industry as much of a commodity as it is today.”

Borick was also a major supporter of the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund and is one of the scholarship’s sub-fund sponsors. He donated $50,000 to the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund in 2004 on behalf of Superior Industries, and the L.L. Borick sub-fund is awarded each year to students seeking careers in the specialty-equipment industry.

He was inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame in 1995.

The Jeep Wrangler Diesel, Toyota Hilux and the Thailand-built Ford Ranger Double Cab are among the vehicles SEMA members would most like to have access to in order to create products. Each of these vehicles is popular overseas but is not sold in the United States.

Through a partnership between SEMA and the U.S. Department of Commerce, SEMA members have the unique opportunity to measure “accessory-friendly” international models in order to create products.

SEMA members are being called upon to help the association prioritize. Members are encouraged to participate in the brief survey to weigh in on the vehicles they most want to see included as part of this program.

For more information, contact Linda Spencer.