Art and Mary Jane Crooks

Nov. 16, 2009 - Lethbridge College announced development of the Crooks School of Transportation today, naming the School after the donors who made a substantial gift toward this initiative.

Community leaders Art and Mary Jane Crooks, strong believers in the importance of trades to Alberta’s future, made a substantial contribution toward the revisioning and retooling of Lethbridge College’s Centre of Innovation in Trades and Sustainable Technologies.

Alberta’s Access to the Future Fund, which supports innovation and excellence within Alberta’s advanced learning system, was able to match a portion of the Crooks’ gift, bringing the total naming of the school to $2 million.

The Crooks are familiar with the quality of Lethbridge College grads and the importance of attracting, training and retaining them here in southern Alberta.

“The opportunities available to our young people are continually growing and changing,” said Crooks, former long-time owner of Canadian Tire on the city’s north side. “As business owners, we’ve long been impressed with the grads we’ve hired. Community support is critical to the college to ensure it has what it needs to provide these students with the best education possible. We see our gift to Lethbridge College as an investment in the entire community.”

The Crooks School of Transportation includes all automotives and heavy-duty equipment training. But, said Tracy Edwards, president and CEO of Lethbridge College, the donation will go further, allowing the college to accelerate the transformation of its educational vision.

“This donation has the potential to alter the landscape of trades training at Lethbridge College," said Edwards. “We have always been proud of our ability to train apprentices and offer pre-employment training in several fields. The Crooks' gift, supplemented by the Access to the Future Fund, will elevate our ability to keep us ahead of the technology curve and allow us to graduate students who will continue to build Alberta's infrastructure in a way that cleaves to the tenets of sustainability.”