Mid-America Regional Fund
Each year, BLD Connection members from Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas come together to raise funds that provide scholarships for the children of employees and member sponsored students pursuing higher education after high school. The BLD Mid-America Regional Fund has developed various programs to support education and training in our industry, including a college scholarship program and an employee Lumbertech scholarship program. To discover more about each program, please click the links below.
College Scholarships
The BLD Connection Mid-America Regional Fund is offering college scholarships up to $1,000 for the 2026-2027 school year. These scholarships are intended to help support high-school seniors or college students seeking an education (2-year or 4-year college or other post-secondary schooling) in the construction and/or building materials industry, or a student seeking to continue their education in a business management/administration program with the intention and/or desire to return to the lumber yard or building material operation following graduation. Applicants must be a family member of an owner or employee of a BLD Connection retail lumber yard member or child of a contractor customer of a BLD Connection member in Arkansas, Kansas, or Missouri. A GPA of 3.0 or better is required.
Click HERE to access the 2026-27 scholarship application. Click HERE for a scholarship poster to hang on your company billboard and share with your local school.
Employee LumberTech Scholarships
Members can apply for a limited number of $100 scholarships to help off-set the cost of employees attending a LumberTech class. LumberTech courses currently include Estimating 1-2-3, Blueprint Reading & Material Take-off, Yard & Delivery Workshop, Lumberyard Design and Operational Excellence Workshop, Sales Development, Returns, Refunds and Special-Order Policies (online) and Bradley Hartmann’s Air Raid Sales Offense. Applications can be submitted when registration is completed. Awards will be made on a first-come, first-served basis.
Click HERE to access the MLA LumberTech Employee Scholarship application.