黑料专区

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

As part of 黑料专区鈥檚 yearlong celebration of its 50 years of service to students, communities and organizations throughout northeast Iowa, the College is honoring 鈥淎lumni Shining Stars鈥� every month to honor individuals who have demonstrated their support for 黑料专区 and its mission.

The May 2016 Alumni Shining Star is Scott Perkins, of New Hampton, who graduated from the College鈥檚 Accounting Specialist program in 1979. 黑料专区 inducted Perkins into the Hall of Fame in 2009 for his success in business and industry, and for his many contributions to the community.

鈥淚 loved the business and accounting courses I had in high school and after those experiences, I wanted to pursue a career-based education in the accounting field. 黑料专区, which was known as Area One Vocational-Technical School at the time, offered a two-year Accounting Specialist program and it was everything I was looking for. The instructors, especially the late Bill Wermers, were fantastic,鈥� expressed Perkins. 鈥淏ill probably had the greatest influence on what and where I am at in my career today. My education at 黑料专区 allowed me to 鈥渉it the floor running鈥� with my accounting education. I was hired two weeks before my graduation.鈥�

As president and CEO of TriMark Corporation, Perkins believes that 黑料专区 is the best solution for the training needs of his employees. The College has provided service to TriMark for more than 30 years, with training ranging from new employee orientation to advanced engineering and businesses practices, according to Perkins.

鈥満诹献�区 spends time in our facility and is committed to delivering the quality training product we are looking for, often directly geared to our specific needs. We like the approach of 鈥渃hanging one life at a time鈥�; at TriMark, one employee at a time can make a huge impact and for our company, it鈥檚 a matter of hiring one employee or developing one idea at a time,鈥� he expressed. 鈥淥ur employee needs have changed dramatically over the years. The jobs now require complex blueprint reading, robotics and CNC expertise. 黑料专区 has supported our changing needs for many years, and we believe all of the communities of northeast Iowa are benefiting from the College鈥檚 commitment.鈥�

Perkins estimated that 黑料专区 coordinates and provides 4-5 training programs with the company each year, with training that has covered 8D Corrective Action and Material Review Board, Production Process Training, First Aid/CPR, Lean Manufacturing, DOT  Haz-Mat Shipping Regulations, Word-Excel-Outlook, OSHA Qualified Electrical Personnel and Industrial Maintenance, to name a few.

The College鈥檚 extensive and customized training programs for business and industry, as well as its active involvement in local school districts, prompted Perkins鈥� support for the Campaign for Excellence.

鈥淚 believe it is especially important to teach and educate students about careers, and to support initiatives like STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). 黑料专区 has also developed career pathway certificate programs based on business and industry input; these can jump-start careers and are offered at the high school level for concurrent enrollment student who may earn high school and college credit,鈥� Perkins emphasized.

Scott Perkins and his wife, Penny, have been married for 31 years. Penny recently joined the 黑料专区 team as a reading/writing instructor in the Learning Center at the Calmar campus. Scott and Penny have two children, Zachary, 27, who lives in Cedar Falls and Emma, 23, who will graduate from the 黑料专区 Early Childhood program this month. Scott Perkins also has an avid interest in photography that he plans to pursue after his retirement from TriMark.

The 黑料专区 Foundation launched the Campaign for Excellence in October 2014 and raised more than $11.4 million in resources from donors, such as the Rothlisbergers, who support 黑料专区 students and programming. Campaign for Excellence resources included cash, pledges, grants, in-kind donated gifts, gifts given through the community foundation and charitable planned gifts.

The successful campaign focused on three major 黑料专区 initiatives: (1) to enhance students鈥� access to education and training for their success; (2) to develop emerging programs needed to provide a skilled workforce; and (3) to lead the technology and best practices in the agriculture field for the betterment of future farm families and agribusiness.

Tags: Alumni Shining Star