Yamaoka Scholarships (Est. 1990)

The formation of HC*EXCELL was initiated by a $50,000 gift from Dr. Kojiro Yamaoka, then chairman of the Tuff Torq Corporation at the plant dedication on April 20, 1990. The gift was meant to seed a foundation for promoting educational excellence and achievement in Hamblen County.  Interest from the seed money established two (2) annual scholarships for higher education (ideally) for Tuff Torq employees’ high school seniors; one for a Morristown-Hamblen East High School student and one for a Morristown-Hamblen West High School student. An additional $50,000 was added in 1996 to further support the scholarships, with the remainder of funds supporting HC*EXCELL’s program of work.

Clearloop Scholarships (Est. 2024)

Silicon Ranch (Clearloop) along with Intuit gave a $50,000 Scholarship Donation for Energizing Prosperity Scholarships ($10,000 each yr for 5 years). Each Hamblen County High School gets -2- CTE $1,000 scholarships, and -1- STEM $3,000 scholarship per year Scholarship disbursement began in 2025 and end in 2029.