FRANKLIN, Tenn. -

For many years, ServNet has supported higher education for members of the auction industry. That support initially began in the early 2000s, when the group got involved with NAAA’s Warren Young Scholarship Program.

Eventually, ServNet decided to broaden its support for training and education by offering scholarships each year to the sons and daughters of employees of ServNet auctions. The network launched its own program in 2016.

“As the leaders of family-owned businesses ourselves, we ServNet owners take a deep personal interest in our employees,” Ryan Clark, owner of Greater Rockford Auto Auction, said in a press release. Clark is a member of ServNet’s board of directors, overseeing the scholarship program.

“ServNet’s scholarship program is a great way for us to encourage the members of our auction families and to help lay the groundwork for the next generation that follows.” The program, he added, “is both an important way to support the families who work so hard in our industry and to invest in our collective future.”

ServNet on Monday announced the opening of its 2019 Scholarship Program, designed to help ServNet auction employees and their families pursue the dream of higher education. Up to 10 awards totaling $20,000 are available for aspiring undergraduate students in 2019. The program assists full-time ServNet auction employees, their children, stepchildren and grandchildren who plan to pursue education in college or vocational school programs.

The awards will be given in increments of five awards of $2,500 to students attending a four-year college or university, and five awards of $1,500 for students who are attending a two-year college or who are pursuing an auto-related degree at a vocational-technical school.

Clark notes that several students have applied for — and been awarded — the ServNet scholarship in multiple years.