Con-way Freight donating equipment to LCCC’s Truck Driver Training program
From Illinois Business Journal news services
GODFREY – Lewis and Clark Community College will play host to officials from Con-way Freight this week to accept a set of twin 28-foot trailers and the connecting “dolly” converter, which the company has donated to the college’s Truck Driver Training program.
“This donation makes Lewis and Clark the first college to train students specifically in twin-trailer operations for large companies like Con-way, FedEx and UPS, and opens up even more job opportunities for our graduates,” said Davie Metzger, trainer in L&C’s Truck Driver Training program and former Con-way employee of 28 years. “Schools that focus on general truck driver training do not teach their students the skills necessary to operate this equipment. Doubles-trailers are widespread in large commercial trucking fleets and the driving jobs associated with this equipment combination are some of the most attractive and well-paying in the trucking industry.”
The donation and media event will take place at 11 a.m., Friday, May 8, in the brick paved lot in front of the Olin Science Building on the college’s Godfrey campus. If it rains, the event will be moved to the overlook lounge on the fifth floor of the Olin Science Building. LCCC President Dale Chapman will open with welcoming remarks, and other speakers will include Metzger, a Truck Driver Training student, and Kevin Beer, director of operations for Con-way’s St. Louis region.
Con-way employees Chuck Markezich, human resource generalist, and Nicholas Mutter, safety manager for the St. Louis region, will also be on campus for the event, during which the equipment will be formally presented and the titles transferred to L&C.
Eric Gamblin, a member of LCCC’s first Truck Driver Training graduating class (Fall 2014), joined Con-way Freight three weeks after completing the program, and initially delivered the donated trailers to L&C’s campus earlier this spring.
While in the program, Gamblin, who drove a smaller commercial truck before joining Con-way, gained more than 1,000 miles of experience driving LCCC’s 53-foot commercial truck.
“I love this program, and the instructors taught me a lot,” Gamblin said. “They were knowledgeable about the trucking business and really helped me learn the skills necessary to be successful as a safe, professional truck driver. Any time I needed help, they were there.”
To learn more, visit www.lc.edu/program/truckdrivertraining or contact Metzger at (618) 468-5796 or dlmetzger@lc.edu.
