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CARBONDALE, Colorado — A new scholarship fund to bring people from developing countries to Colorado to learn about solar energy technology is being established in memory of a longtime Solar Energy International associate who died in the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti.
The family of Walt Ratterman announced Monday that among the bodies recovered from the rubble of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in recent days was that of Ratterman.
“Thank you for your love, prayers and support; we look forward to speaking with each of you personally when we are able,” they wrote on a Facebook web page that was dedicated shortly after the quake to the hopeful rescue of Ratterman and others who were still missing.
Ratterman was an alumnus, supporter and instructor with Carbondale-based SEI, and was the co-founder of SunEnergy Power International, based in Washougal, Wash. He was in Haiti working on a series of renewable energy projects for rural hospitals.
Laurie Guevara-Stone, International Program manager for SEI, said the new Ratterman scholarship fund will provide financial aid to people from developing countries to attend an SEI workshop and take their knowledge back to their home countries.
Ratterman was involved with rural solar PV installations in Nicaragua, the Galapagos Islands, southern Ecuador, Peru, Arunachal Pradesh in India, Burma, Thailand, and Rwanda — many in partnership with SEI.
“Walt's spirit will most certainly live on in the thousands of lives he touched, and the many people he inspired with his remarkable work,” Guevara-Stone wrote on the Facebook site following this week's announcement.
Ratterman was featured in Adrian Belic's 2006 award-winning film “Beyond the Call,” a documentary about Knightsbridge International (KBI), a humanitarian relief organization of which Ratterman was a part.
SEI will screen the film at 7 p.m. tonight at Dos Gringos in Carbondale, as a fundraiser for SunEnergy Power International and its continued work with solar projects in Haiti.
“Walt was one of the most inspiring, dedicated, courageous, and knowledgeable solar advocates I knew,” Guevara-Stone said. “He never hesitated to do a training for SEI in places that most people would never travel.”
There is no charge at the door, but donations are welcome.
jstroud@postindependent.com
The family of Walt Ratterman announced Monday that among the bodies recovered from the rubble of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in recent days was that of Ratterman.
“Thank you for your love, prayers and support; we look forward to speaking with each of you personally when we are able,” they wrote on a Facebook web page that was dedicated shortly after the quake to the hopeful rescue of Ratterman and others who were still missing.
Ratterman was an alumnus, supporter and instructor with Carbondale-based SEI, and was the co-founder of SunEnergy Power International, based in Washougal, Wash. He was in Haiti working on a series of renewable energy projects for rural hospitals.
Laurie Guevara-Stone, International Program manager for SEI, said the new Ratterman scholarship fund will provide financial aid to people from developing countries to attend an SEI workshop and take their knowledge back to their home countries.
Ratterman was involved with rural solar PV installations in Nicaragua, the Galapagos Islands, southern Ecuador, Peru, Arunachal Pradesh in India, Burma, Thailand, and Rwanda — many in partnership with SEI.
“Walt's spirit will most certainly live on in the thousands of lives he touched, and the many people he inspired with his remarkable work,” Guevara-Stone wrote on the Facebook site following this week's announcement.
Ratterman was featured in Adrian Belic's 2006 award-winning film “Beyond the Call,” a documentary about Knightsbridge International (KBI), a humanitarian relief organization of which Ratterman was a part.
SEI will screen the film at 7 p.m. tonight at Dos Gringos in Carbondale, as a fundraiser for SunEnergy Power International and its continued work with solar projects in Haiti.
“Walt was one of the most inspiring, dedicated, courageous, and knowledgeable solar advocates I knew,” Guevara-Stone said. “He never hesitated to do a training for SEI in places that most people would never travel.”
There is no charge at the door, but donations are welcome.
jstroud@postindependent.com
