Pioneer Petroleums – one of the Hamilton-Burlington region's most community-minded
businesses – has committed $312,500 to support McMaster University's business and
entrepreneurial students, including the creation of a new Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

The company, as well as the Hogarth Family Holding Company, the Pioneer Group
Inc., has made several gifts to McMaster during the past three decades, creating a family
of Pioneer awards, scholarships and bursaries that have supported many McMaster
students.

This latest gift, announced at a May 19 reception at the University's new Ron Joyce
Centre, will continue Pioneer Petroleums' tradition of student-centred giving. A local
success story, Pioneer Petroleums has flourished in an industry dominated by big
corporations. The company has been a steadfast community supporter since opening its
first gas station in 1956 on Hamilton's Upper James Street. Through this gift, the
company is investing in the next generation of business minds and entrepreneurs in
Hamilton and Burlington.

“Successful businesses have an obligation to give back to the communities that
supported their profitable growth – to balance the life cycle of needs for both them and
their community,” said Murray Hogarth, company founder and executive chairman.

McMaster President Patrick Deane lauded Pioneer for its continuing commitment to
help students. “We are pleased that Pioneer Petroleums continues to invest in McMaster
students through its ongoing generosity to the University,” he said. “It is particularly
gratifying to receive support from a hometown company that has invested so
extensively in the communities where they have so successfully built their business.”

A portion of the funds will be used to endow a new award: the Pioneer Petroleums
Ontario Graduate Scholarship. Beginning next year, it will be given annually to a
master's or doctoral student at McMaster, with preference to those students whose
research is entrepreneurial in nature. Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) awards are
designed to encourage excellence in graduate education in Ontario. Each scholarship is
worth $15,000 – funded one-third by the University and two-thirds by the Ontario
government.

The Pioneer Petroleums gift will also support the development of the Ron Joyce
Centre at the DeGroote School of Business campus in Burlington. In recognition of the
company's generosity, a state-of-the-art lecture theatre in the Ron Joyce Centre will be
named the Pioneer Petroleums Lecture Theatre.