OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A crisp fall morning brought community leaders, educators, and members of the Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership together to celebrate the ribbon cutting for Marion Technical College’s new Diesel and Aviation Mechanics Facility, a major milestone for workforce development in Marion County.
“This building started out as a big rectangle, and people were like, ‘you’re going to build a metal building that’s going to be ugly,’” recalled MTC Principal Gary Smallridge, drawing laughter from the crowd. “The most important part is that we got support from all our legislature. Back then it was Senator [Keith] Perry and Representative [Stan] McClain, and they really supported us. We heard a lot from the community about how badly they wanted diesel mechanics training. Aviation mechanics is also a big need in the state, with nearly 1,500 jobs opening each year.”
Smallridge shared how MTC’s vision gained momentum through collaboration. “We got support from the school board, we started the process, and that summer right before graduation, we found out we’d been approved. We were extremely excited. Then the real work began, planning, designing, and making sure the building would be both functional and beautiful.”…