The Kovatch Foundation, a beneficiary of the Nesquehoning-based Kovatch Corporation, awarded scholarships to 12 high school seniors that had a combined total of $32,000.

The awards were presented during a dinner program held Tuesday at The Lantern Restaurant in Nesquehoning. The award recipients and their parents were invited to the event.This marks the fifth year the foundation is presenting such awards, said John Kovatch III, president and CEO of Kovatch and KME. In the five years, the foundation has awarded a total of $175,000 in scholarships.This year's recipients are:• Hunter Davidyock, Panther Valley, $4,000, attending the Pennsylvania College of Technology, where he will major in electronic technology.• Brooke Turner, Panther Valley, $4,000, attending Gettysburg College and majoring an anthropology. She is the school's valedictorian.• Amy Corby, Panther Valley, $4,000, attending Penn State University to attain a nursing degree.• Marcus Mack, Carbon Career & Technical Institute, $4,000, attending Triangle Tech to major in auto body and commercial repair.• Stephen Reehl, Panther Valley, $3,000, attending Elizabethtown College.• Ethan Vermillion, Panther Valley, $3,000, attending the University of Pittsburgh.• Anthony Escalante, California, $3,000, attending Marino Valley College and will major in psychology.• Taylor M. Horvat, Marian Catholic High School, $3,000, attending Widener University.• Michael D. Weng, Panther Valley, $1,000, attending Lehigh Carbon Community College.• Abby O'Donnell, Marian Catholic High School, $1,000, attending Alvernia University, where she will major in occupational therapy.• Mitchell Pados, Lehighton, $1,000, attending Temple University.• Kyle Weaver, Tamaqua, $1,000, attending Drexel University.George Mermon, president of the Kovatch Foundation, said Escalante was chosen because KME has a plant in California. The Kovatch Foundation was started in memory of the late John "Sonny" Kovatch, who was the founder of the Kovatch firm and expanded it from a neighborhood garage to a corporation that today employs over 900 people and supplies fire apparatus to concerns around the globe.He died at the age of 85 on Jan. 29, 2011, while still actively involved in running the company."I'm really proud, and our family is really proud, to carry on the tradition in Sonny's name," John Kovatch III said. "This is all about remembering Sonny."Mermon said the selections were made strictly on the applications received.