“What was once a dream is now a reality,” said Mike Johnson, chairman of Barton Community College’s Board of Trustees.
He was speaking Wednesday, July 17, at the dedication of the Agriculture and Transportation Complex on the east side of the Great Bend campus.
There were four ribbon cuttings, starting with one for the complex as a whole. This was followed by ribbon cuttings for three of its named sections:
• The Glenn and Elaine Mull Agriculture Center
• The KanEquip Learning Center
• The L.L. Alban Transportation Training Center
Lindsey Bogner, Barton’s executive director for Institutional Advancement, noted the prospect of a future ribbon cutting.
“While they have not been built yet, we will have a set of corrals out to the east of the building,” Bogner said. “They will back up to the animal science labs so we can bring livestock directly into the lab for classroom experiences and we’ll include a chute system.” This area will be named the Merlin and Nelva Grimes Memorial Corrals.
Other speakers at the celebration were Dr. Marcus Garstecki, president of Barton Community College, and James Meyers, training development and delivery manager for CNH Industrial.
The program was followed by tours. Sponsors of the event were the Barton Community College Foundation, Great Bend Chamber of Commerce, Hoisington Chamber of Commerce and Ellinwood Chamber of Commerce.
In the audience were representatives from the offices of Senators Jerry Moran and Dr. Roger Marshall, as well as from the office of Rep. Tracey Mann; Tobias Wood, associate director for Career and Technical Education at the Kansas Board of Regents; Heather Morgan, executive director of the Kansas Community College Association; and members of the BCC Foundation and the BCC Board of Trustees.
Dr. Kathy Kottas, dean of Workforce Training and Community Education, was the master of the ceremony.
“We are happy to officially announce we are open for business,” Kottas said.
The groundbreaking for the complex was on Feb. 28, 2023.
Dr. Garstecki officially became president of Barton Community College on July 1, so he said he takes zero credit for the project.
“It’s a monumental day for Barton Community College, for Barton County, the agriculture community and our entire region,” he said. “This facility reflects Barton’s commitment to meeting the needs of our students and workforce development. With 14,000 square feet, this complex includes classroom space and hands-on learning spaces for our CDL program, agriculture and crop science, animal science, the new CNH TopTech program, and outside the scale for the scales tech program. Space has also already been mapped out for ag test plots and a greenhouse. The dedication and commitment that’s been shown over the past several years from when this project was first talked about is really truly inspiring.”
He mentioned the longtime collaboration the college has had with Case New Holland (CNH), local business leaders who serve on advisory boards, “and all of our donors, who brought this facility from a dream to reality.”
“From the agriculture standpoint,” Meyers said, “it’s going to help the local community tremendously.” The college will continue the partnership it has had with CNH since 1995, where it trained technicians for that company from across the nation. With the new TopTech program, “it’s great to be able to continue that partnership, grow that partnership, and be able to assist in getting technicians trained for our local dealerships.”
Johnson also mentioned CNH and now the TopTech program that is open to anyone. “But as you will see, this new facility is much more. It will also allow Barton to grow and expand several of our existing workforce programs and enable those enrolled to build a better life for themselves and their families.
“I want to sincerely thank each of those that have been part of this project, no matter how large or small the contribution has been. Thank you.”
Dozens of individuals were thanked during the program. There will be a donor wall in the complex, but for now a banner lists some of the major donors.
