| | Chess |
Toby Chess, Los Angeles I-CAR program instructor, solicited donations totaling over $3,500 from Southern California shop owners to benefit Gretna Career College, Gretna, Louisiana, caught in the devastating path of Hurricane Katrina two years ago. As a result of the hurricane, Gretna Career College lost all contents that sustained their Automotive Collision Repair Technology program including computers, documentation of students’ satisfactory progress, pacing charts, course syllabi, lesson plans, curriculum, and other instructional resources that had been developed for the program.
“We decided to let the I-CAR Education Foundation find a worthy recipient for the money that was collected. I am very happy that a school’s collision repair program will benefit from the generosity of my good friends and colleagues,” stated Chess. On July, 19 2007, Ron Ray, I-CAR Education Foundation executive director, and Jeff Peevy, I-CAR field operations manager, presented donations to the school to help rejuvenate the Automotive Collision Repair Technology program. Donations included the I-CAR Live curriculum, student discs, props, student consumables, and simulators. “The Automotive Collision Repair Technology program had only eight weeks left in its term when Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005,” said Nick Randazzo, president and CEO of Gretna Career College. “Since Katrina, it has been difficult recruiting students because the local economy continues to focus on rebuilding – everyone who wants to work is employed in construction trades. In essence, Gretna Career College has had to rebuild its student body, every instructional department, and each administrative component facing post-Katrina conditions. We are very grateful for the donations and believe that this will be the most effective means of reimplementing our program.” “The dedication to help the future of this industry prosper from individuals like Toby Chess and other supporters in Southern California shows the tremendous commitment, passion, and effort needed to make a difference,” stated Ray. In addition to this effort, Chess is also soliciting money nationwide from collision repairers to purchase nine MIG welders to increase the number of collision repair students being trained in steel GMA (MIG) welding. |
