MHI Starts Willard P. Heddles Memorial Endowment Fund

To commemorate the career of former MHI Board of Governors member Willard P. Heddles, an industry leader, visionary, and mentor in material handling, MHI established the Willard P. Heddles Memorial Endowment Fund for material handling education (at both university and CTE level) in 2017 out of a portion of ProMat Industry Night ticket sales.

Mr. Heddles, who passed away in 2017, was a member of the MHI Roundtable and served on the MHI Board of Governors from 2004-2015. He also served as on the Board of Directors of the Material Handling Education Foundation, Inc., most recently as its Last Retiring President. Mr. Heddles received the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Business Leadership in 2001.

At this year’s MHI Roundtable Meetings, the first without Mr. Heddles, a campaign was started to raise an additional $15,000 at the meeting to bring the fund to a total of $50,000. Over the course of the three-day meetings, $21,700 was raised, exceeding the goal for the campaign.

MHI is the nation’s largest material handling, logistics and supply chain association. MHI offers education, networking and solution sourcing for members, their customers and the industry as a whole through programming and events.

“Those who had the pleasure to know Will, remember him for his passion, grace, eloquence and professionalism and for his unwavering support of this industry,” said George Prest, MHI CEO.