BLOOMINGTON, ILL – NOVEMBER 2, 2021 – The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) welcomes the Lewis and Clark Community College (L&C) as an Affiliated Partner of the B20 Club of Illinois. They recently sponsored an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) training session for the students in the college’s Department of Automotive Technology in partnership with MEG Corp.
The three-hour long training session taught students new skills to add to their resume, including the ability to diagnose drivability issues with on-road and off-road equipment, understanding a simple process for testing fuel quality, and analyzing fuel types to determine if there is a contaminated fuel issue.
“It’s an awesome opportunity because it gives community college students a perspective that many of them haven’t experienced before,” says Chris Reynolds, Coordinator of the Automotive Technology Department and Associate Professorat L&C. “A lot of our students come from urban areas and don’t recognize the potential each time they drive past a field. This training allows them to have a better appreciation for the rural communities that support their vehicular performance on highways from coast to coast.”
The B20 Club is a partnership between the ISA checkoff program and the American Lung Association that recognizes a select group of Illinois-based organizations with a strong commitment to run fleets on biodiesel blends of 20% or greater.
ASE training was created in 2012 and was designed to educate trainees about biodiesel and biodiesel blends. Fifteen students at L&C’s Department of Automotive Technology attended the training this year.
Thanks to the use of biodiesel used by all B20 Club members there have been 6,721 tons of CO2 reductions, 2,320 vehicles have been fueled and an estimated health savings of $700,700 thanks to its environmental impact.
“We want to be a program that not only supports the needs of the rural sectors that we already serve but also the urban sectors that a significant number of our students come from,” says Reynolds. “If we can provide them hands-on learning experiences, and point them toward a successful career path, then we have done our job as a community college.”
For more information about becoming a B20 Club member, please contact Bailey Arnold at (217) 241-9011 or Bailey.Arnold@Lung.org.
The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) checkoff and membership programs represent more than 43,000 soybean farmers in Illinois. The checkoff funds market development and utilization efforts while the membership program supports the government relations interests of Illinois soybean farmers at the local, state, and national level, through the Illinois Soybean Growers (ISG). ISA upholds the interests of Illinois soybean producers through promotion, advocacy, and education with the vision of becoming a market leader in sustainable soybean production and profitability. For more information, visit the website www.ilsoy.org and ilsoygrowers.com.
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