Halbert, Harley and KACC
They Make a Good Team!
Kudos to Joseph Halbert, Collision Repair student at the Kankakee Area Career Center from Beecher High School. Joseph, through a relationship developed between Harley-Davidson of Crete and the Career Center, was just hired to work in their Service Support Center.
Joseph’s Collision Instructor, Chris Morse, and General Manager of Harley-Davidson Crete, David Wallace, accompanied Joe and his mother to the Administrative Board meeting for the KARVES Region (entity with oversight of the Career Center).
According to Mr. Wallace, in all his years of experience, Joseph ranks in the “top 3” for job interviews. Mr. Wallace said this Service Support Center is the first of its kind in the country. Harley-Davidson of Crete has been around for 19 years and is still, according to Mr. Wallace, a “mom and pop, family-owned” business. Mr. Wallace stated there is a HD University, but since Joseph will; work in collision repair area, he will probably go to classes sponsored by Sherman-Williams Paint Company. Mr. Kelley, KACC Assistant Principal, stated he toured the facility with Mr. Morse and said it was fabulous. What he thought would last 20 minutes turned into a 2 to 3 hour tour and discussion. “It’s really impressive,” said Mr. Kelley.
Mr. Morse Described a conversation he had with Joseph on their way home from the State SkillsUSA Competition (where Joe took 3rd place!), when Joe told Mr. Morse “I am so glad I took this class. I learned so much from the class and I can use a lot of the material in life - not just the tasks we learned.” Mr. Morse recalled asking Joe “What will you use in life?” and his reply was “Things like professionalism, how to dress and act for an interview, and how to talk to and explain things to a customer so they can understand the repair.”
Young Mr. Halbert also addressed the Board thanking his teacher and all present for the opportunity he experienced at KACC. He stated he believes he has direction in his life and the notion he first had about the Career Center being for kids who were not going to college was incorrect. He was nervous at first because he knew he wanted college. He and his parents have been investigating colleges which offer automotive technology. We’re sure Joseph has a bright future ahead of him.
