Trustees thank Dick Levi for generous donation 

The LLCC Board of Trustees met in special session yesterday afternoon and unanimously approved naming of a new aviation classroom building the Levi, Ray and Shoup, Inc. Aviation Center at Lincoln Land Community College.

The board’s special meeting preceded a press conference at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport to announce a gift of $850,000 from Dick Levi of Levi, Ray and Shoup, Inc. to the LLCC Foundation to allow for construction of a new classroom facility adjacent to the current LLCC aviation center at the airport.

At the special board meeting, LLCC Chair Craig Findley noted the many years of work by former chair and long-time LLCC trustee Kent Gray in envisioning and planning for the expansion.

Mr. Gray joined the board in thanking Mr. Levi and Levi, Ray and Shoup for the generous and community-minded donation. “This gift will fulfill our long-held dream to improve our training facilities in the growing field of aviation mechanics. We will potentially be able to double the number of students we serve who can train for secure careers in the aviation maintenance field. We will have more room for classrooms, currently housed in modular structures, and outstanding spaces for hands-on technical training.”

The Springfield Airport Authority will own and oversee construction of the new facility, which is scheduled to begin this spring and open next fall.

At the press conference following the board meeting, Mr. Levi commented, “I am truly pleased and proud to make this gift to benefit students and the community.”

A number of LLCC aviation students who were on hand for the press conference have paid internships and offers to work at StandardAero, located at the airport, which was acquired last fall by Veritas Capital based in New York. At the time of the acquisition, the company announced an increase in hiring, and LLCC’s program puts students in a good position to compete for those expanding jobs.

LLCC’s 18-month aviation mechanics program, the only such program in central Illinois, prepares students to take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification exam for airframe and power plant mechanics. The program emphasizes hands-on experience with the repair and maintenance of modern engines and airframes.

Classes in the program begin every January and August. The new program beginning January 19 still has openings for students.

More information on enrolling is available by calling Dave Pietrzak, director of aviation, at 217.544.4965 or 309.530.7372 or online at www.llcc.edu/aviation.