Sale of Oil150 Prints to Benefit UPB Desk and Derrick Scholarship

The Penn York Oil and Gas Affiliates of Desk and Derrick Club is planning to put proceeds from the sale of a new art print toward its new petroleum technology scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

The print was created by Colin Kimball, PennzSuppress product manager for American Refining Group Inc. based in McKinney, Texas, and depicts the Bradford refinery’s crude unit at night.

Kimball began his creation by taking a photo from the top of the ARG hydrotreater while it was under construction in December 2007. He then digitally painted an impressionistic-style painting of the photograph in a process that took about a week to complete.

The 8-by-14-inch prints will be on sale for $50 each as part of Bradford’s Oil150 celebration marking 150 years since the discovery of oil in the Pennsylvania oil field. The club plans to sell 150 signed, limited-edition prints to raise $7,500 for its scholarship. The money could then be matched by the Agnes L. and Lewis Lyle Thomas Scholarship Challenge at Pitt-Bradford.

The Thomas Scholarship Challenge was made possible by a $1 million gift from Agnes L. Thomas and allows donors to double the amount of gifts between $5,000 and $50,000 to new or existing scholarships, as long as funds last. Gifts must be paid within five years to be eligible.

“I am honored by the opportunity to share this work with my fellow employees during this historic occasion,” Kimball said, “and I am grateful for the opportunity to help new students within the earth science/petroleum-related field pursue their education with the proceeds generated by the sale of the limited-edition prints.”

“To share my passion for photography in a manner that provides scholarships for the future leaders of our vital industry is profoundly gratifying.”

Kimball is an U.S. Air Force veteran who has been fascinated with rocks and photography since he was 8 years old. He attained a graduate degree in geology and worked part time as a portrait photographer to pay his tuition.

“The passion for photography is ongoing, and my collection of cameras and lenses has now outpaced my rock collection,” he said.

The Desk and Derrick Club established its scholarship through the Thomas Scholarship Challenge.

The group specified first preference for its scholarship be given to current members of the organization or their immediate family members, second preference to current employees or immediate family of a company that sponsors the organization, as well as preference to students living in McKean, Elk, Forest, Potter and Warren counties or Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties in New York state.

Unframed prints are available at Roseart Co., 119 Main St., Bradford, or by contacting Kay Soble at ksoble@amref.com or (814)368-1412. They will also be on sale during the Oil150 Celebration Aug. 22 in Callahan Park in Bradford.

In addition, Cavallaro Paint & Decorating at 10-12 Kennedy St., Bradford, will donate 10 percent of proceeds from matting and framing the print to the scholarship fund.

For more information on the scholarship challenge, contact Karen Niemic Buchheit, executive director of institutional advancement at Pitt-Bradford, at (814)362-5091 or kpb@pitt.edu.

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