Hamer grant impacts Academy

LEWISTOWN -- The Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology will reap immediate benefits from a generous grant from the Hamer Foundation, but its overall impact could also be felt for years to come.

"The Hamer Foundation contribution to our Advanced Manufacturing will really help prepare our students for the workforce that's in Mifflin County," Academy Administrative Director Barry W. King said Wednesday afternoon.

"A lot of larger industries are going to the robotics, CNC (computer numerical control), collaboration, and with their contribution, we'll prepare our kids for those skills and those jobs, so that they will be able to stay in Mifflin County and make a reasonable living," he added.

Students, faculty and staff were present as officials from the Hamer Foundation, of State College, presented the Academy with a check for $114,995. The foundation was created in 1989 to provide support to non-profit organizations within a 100-mile radius of State College with regard to the environment, community and education.

It was founded by the late Donald W. Hamer, of Bellefonte, who created State of the Art Inc., a leading manufacturer of high reliability chip resistors that were used in NASA's Voyager spacecraft in 1977, and are still going strong after traveling more than 20 billion kilometers through the solar system and beyond.

Programs, such as mechatronics, electrical installation, precision machining and welding technology, are part of the Academy's Advanced Manufacturing collaboration program and should benefit from the grant.

About $55,000 of the Hamer Foundation grant will be used to help expand the Academy's Advanced Manufacturing technology department by purchasing an UR10e Cobot Robot that interfaces with a 5 axis CNC machine.

The remaining $60,000 of the grant will help start a Habitat for Humanity project at the Academy. Students will start working to build a 1,536-square-foot modular home.

Jeff Bell, president of Habitat for Humanity of Mifflin County, helped to get the program started and was pleased with the Hamer Foundation's support.

"We've agreed to build a house and the Academy has offered to provide the panelization for our next house in the spring," Bell explained. "We did one and we're hoping we can get the students to come out and work on our houses and help finish our houses to give something back to the community."

School officials recognized Rev. John Harwood, of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Lewistown, for his efforts in helping the Mifflin County School District and Academy forge a partnership with the Hamer Foundation to support the educational experiences taking shape at the Academy.