25th anniversary open house to showcase IVCC Truck Driver Training facility, fleet, equipment 

Illinois Valley Community College’s Truck Driver Training Program is celebrating its 25th anniversary this week with an open house that will showcase two just-installed driving simulators, as well as its main-campus headquarters and truck fleet.

The open house will be from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, April 24, at the training facility on the Oglesby campus.

“We could not be more excited to celebrate this milestone,” said Rebecca Zamora, dean of workforce development career and technical programs. “This is a testament to the dedication of our instructors, staff and students and the vital role professional drivers play in keeping our communities and economy moving.”

Since it welcomed its first class on April 24, 2000, the training program has graduated 2,025 students, many of whom are featured on a photo Wall of Honor in one of the classrooms. Even families are represented as parents pass down the legacy to grown children who enroll.

Program Coordinator Tom Nestler said the photo wall is a sign of the students’ success but also serves as a reminder to drivers who meet trucks on the road.

“Remember there is a person behind that wheel; it is not just a truck.”

Besides training professional drivers, the new simulators will be used in youth programs like IVCC’s summer career and youth camps. The purchase was made possible by a $300,000 grant from the Illinois Community College Board Taking Back the Trades program, which promotes trades education to high school and college youth.

The simulators’ arrival coincided with the anniversary plans perfectly, Nestler said.

“They are going to help our program tremendously. The new building was probably the last time we had this much excitement!”

Simulators have become popular training equipment because trainees can practice shifting and backing skills and experience a variety of virtual weather and driving conditions without risking the equipment or their own safety.

“You can see how you react and understand that turning a corner in a 70-foot truck is not like being in a car,” Nestler said.

Simulators can be programmed to create road and weather situations that may not be available on demand during a class period in rural Illinois Valley. They can deliver traffic jams, delivery docking situations, tire blowouts, mountain or snowstorm driving, and reflect a variety of loads – even a snowplow. Training in that skill is in high demand by the Illinois Department of Transportation and municipalities, Zamora said.

Illinois is a transportation hub for highway and river traffic, as well as warehousing, agriculture mining, construction and other industries. An experienced driver can easily earn a six-figure salary, and broad experience translates into bigger salaries when drivers are hired.

Trucking supports the entire economy, Nestler said.

“There is nothing you see in this classroom that was not on a truck at one time or another.”

The new equipment means more drivers can practice skills at once, either in one of the two semis or on a simulator. Skyrocketing enrollment keeps the program at capacity, but Nestler hopes to expand both the fleet and the instructor pool over the next few years.

The program accommodates 120 students a year in four- or six-week sessions. The first half of the program prepares students to test for a driving permit, after which they must master behind-the-wheel skills to obtain a commercial license.

Small classes and a high graduation rate make the program popular, especially against other training options where students do not get as much drive time or the individualized instruction that Nestler’s eight instructors can provide. His team is backed by a wide variety of commercial driving experience.

Graduates Kevin Minnick and Miranda Leffelman said those are the reasons they chose IVCC’s program.

As operations manager of Peru’s electric department, Minnick now sends his drivers to IVCC.

“Tom and his instructors provide high quality training that is uniquely individualized. They have a very effective blend of knowledge training and skill training,” Minnick said.

Leffelman has worked for two major trucking firms since she graduated, and said she appreciated the small classes at IVCC.

“We did not have to wait an hour for our turn at the wheel and got a closer look at how we all performed. All the instructors had a lot of driving experience and were there because they wanted to train us to be successful.”

Minnick and Leffelman appreciated the program’s emphasis on safety.

“You become more aware of driving when you realize how big and how fast and how heavy a truck can be,” Leffelman said. “It takes a lot of people to keep you moving so at the end of the day you come to work safe and make it home safe and have a good day.”