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The North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) is pleased to announce that Do it Best Corp., headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, will be sponsoring two scholarships to help Do it Best member-owners participate in NRHA’s Retail Management Certification Program.
The Retail Management Certification Program is an in-depth, college level leadership and management program designed to teach retailers’ key, high-potential employees what they need to know to become future leaders in their respective organizations. The NRHA program is conducted jointly by the association and Indianapolis-based Butler University.
“Do it Best Corp. has always believed that, to be truly successful as an independent business, you have to be willing to invest in the education and development of the next generation of leadership,” says Bob Taylor, Do it Best Corp. president and CEO. “These scholarships will help ensure that Do it Best members and their key employees have greater access to the training and education they need to secure the future of their operations for years to come and we are proud to support such a critical leadership development program for our industry.”
The two Do it Best Corp. scholarships will cover 50 percent of the program’s tuition costs for the recipients. One scholarship will be available for an attendee to the Fall 2015 session (beginning Sept. 15) and another available for an attendee to the Spring 2016 session (beginning Feb. 9, 2016).
“The Retail Management Certification Program was developed by retailers, for retailers, because it addresses a critical need they are facing in providing leadership skills to the next generation of owners and managers,” says Bill Lee, NRHA president and CEO. “With help from outstanding companies like Do it Best Corp., this important program will be available to independent dealers for years to come.”
More than a dozen Do it Best members have already sent students through the Retail Management Certification Program and these scholarships will make the program even more accessible for Do it Best members in the future, according to Lee.
The program focuses on providing attendees with the critical skills needed to run a home improvement retailing operation including coursework in the areas of leadership, business strategy, marketing, sales, customer service, operations, finance, accounting and retail technologies. Students attend three sessions in Indianapolis and work with a course adviser and a mentor throughout the program.
In addition to the coursework, attendees are also required to develop real-world business plans for their specific operations that will provide the businesses with measurable returns on their investments. To date, these projects have generated additional revenues of more than $2.5 million to the graduates’ companies.
For more information about the NRHA Retail Management Certification Program or the Do it Best scholarships available, please contact Scott Wright, executive director at 317-275-9417 or SWright@nrha.org. You can also visit www.nrharmcp.com.
For more information about Do it Best Corp., please contact Randy Rusk, communications director, at 260-748-5307 or randy.rusk@doitbest.com.
