Jerry R. Iverson started in the family machine tool distributorship (Iverson & Company) after graduation from Florida State University in 1958. He worked alongside his father Edward Iverson. Jerry took over running the company in 1972, when his father passed away. Early in his career Jerry perfected engineered machine tool solutions for his customers. Over the decades Jerry would finance machine tools that he sold to many young entrepreneurs/machinists to “Champion” their company. Under his leadership, Jerry hired many a young inside or outside sales person, application or service engineer and mentored them into career long employees. This scholarship named after Jerry in his memory, is to encourage/help finance young people to pursue manufacturing careers with the education necessary to establish a higher point of entry into the industry.