Norman, OK

Oklahoma City’s Tio Chuy’s Auto Sales Award Scholarships in Honor of Family Patriarch.

Last year, Rich Barnard, president and CEO of Tio Chuy’s Auto Sales, LLC surprised his family with a special announcement. Not only was his company starting a scholarship at Moore Norman Technology Center, the scholarship is named after the family patriarch, Joseph R. Barnard.

The Joseph R. Barnard Memorial Scholarship was awarded to six (6) Moore Norman Technology Center students who will each receive a $1000 scholarship. This scholarship will allow our students to purchase tools, pay for certification exams, and cover other expenses that may otherwise present barriers to entering the workforce in their chosen field.

The second group of students to receive the scholarship are; Elizabeth Adams, Surgical Technology; Joshua Ware, Chason Brassfield, and McKenzie Fleehart from Automotive Service Technology; Riley Cole, Aviation Maintenance Technology; Londyn Robb, Esthetics.

Rich Barnard is a third-generation supporter of career and technical education. His grandfather and the scholarship’s namesake, Joseph R. Barnard, was a World War II U.S. Navy veteran who earned his plumbing journeyman’s license after the war. Later Rich’s father, Terry Barnard, earned the same credential after his years of military service in Viet Nam. Today, many of Rich’s cousins work in technical fields at Tinker Airforce Base and Rich has a decades-long career in the automotive industry.

After coming up with the idea to start a scholarship fund for students in career and technical education, Rich decided Moore Norman Technology Center was the perfect fit. He and his company have been actively involved in supporting students and programs at MNTC.

“I serve on the auto service advisory committee at Moore Norman, and we have hired many employees from their program,” said Barnard. “I believe in what they do, and I know my father feels that way, as did his father before him. My family has lived in Moore since the 1940s and this is one way we can give back to the community.”

“Rich and the guys from Tio Chuy’s are highly valued members of our advisory committee,” said MNTC Transportation and Aerospace Program Director Lee Dow. “When they approached me with an interest in starting a scholarship, I was truly overwhelmed. As educator for 25 years, I have seen firsthand the impact a scholarship can have on a student entering the workforce, it can be a game changer. Partnerships like this take our students’ success to the next level. We couldn’t be more appreciative.” 

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