Friendly Chevrolet has been in business in Springfield, IL since 1965. When Susan Langheim took over the dealership from her father, John Schroeder, in 1995, she was one of only 116 female dealer-operators, among nearly 4,400 Chevrolet franchises nationwide. Friendly Chevrolet is a leader in our local workforce by assisting those individuals who are new to the auto tech field with hands-on training through programs like the WIOA On-the-Job Training (OJT) program. When one of our auto tech trainees was desperately looking for an employment opportunity during the pandemic, we contacted Friendly Chevrolet’s Service Manager, Randy Powell, to explain the benefits of partnering with our OJT programs. This is an important program to further the education of automotive technicians. Powell hired the trainee into a full-time position. Friendly Chevrolet demonstrated a continued leadership role with our various partners including Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC). Powell sits on the LLCC Automotive Employer Advisory Group to help the school stay abreast of various changes to the auto industry and to communicate the current automotive skills needed. We were proud to partner with Friendly Chevrolet on the OJT project and hope to continue to assist them with recruiting needs in the future.