NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Larry Fisher, Executive Director of the NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by Automobile Club of Southern California, joined other community leaders who were recognized for their service and support of the students and educational programs of the Pomona Unified School District. At the Community Service Awards Recognition Ceremony and Reception held on Wednesday, April 19 in Pomona, Fisher along with 51 other individuals and 22 community organizations were presented their Community Service Awards.

Fisher has served for several terms and is currently Chair of the National Academy Foundation (NAF) Advisory Board for Fremont Academy of Engineering and Design, a public middle and high school for students in grades 6 thru 12. At Fremont Engineering Academy all students take engineering classes every day.  As a project based school, students are guided through a rigorous STEM curriculum that provides hands on application with an emphases on project and problem based learning.  For students to be successful they need real connections to industry and the business world, and partnerships with post-secondary institutions to ensure that all students are college- and career-ready. 

Fisher, who was recognized for his dedicated leadership, has spearheaded enhanced learning opportunities for students through community partnerships including the development of STEM focused motorsports curriculum in which students are working as advisors and developers over a three-year period culminating in classroom and museum curriculum for public programming.  Also as Advisory Board Chair he is critical in establishing job shadowing and internships with community businesses and innovators that are based on familiarization with various engineering and STEM careers. 

Fisher recently developed a partnership for the NHRA Motorsports Museum, NHRA, and the Femineer program at Fremont Academy, a group of female students preparing for career paths in Engineering. The Femineers consists of 48 girls in grades 9-12, each of these girls are in the top of their class. The NHRA Motorsports Museum partnership is one of several that highlight the role of women engineers in motorsports. Through the program students visited and observed Top Fuel racer Leah Pritchett, while she was competing in the Circle K NHRA Winternationals.

On Feb. 4, Pritchett made the current fastest unofficial pass in NHRA history by going 3.654 seconds at 331.85 mph.  Scott Lukesh, Master Teacher and Coordinator of the Femineers program said, “Larry Fisher is a great example of the power of a community leadership working to help tomorrow’s leaders.”