At the start of Thursday (July 24th) evening’s Danville Area Community College Board of Trustees meeting, three people stepped up to the mike and talked about what the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program has done for them, and is doing for others. Two of them, Rick DuPree and Gerardo “Chico” Rangel; were working at Quaker Oats when it closed last year. DuPree, self-described as a maintenance man most of his life, came to earn his HVAC certificate. That opened so many doors for him that now he’s involved in the program helping open doors for the young workers of the future. DuPree says this apprenticeship program is the perfect kind of training and education.
AUDIO: And everybody’s been told; “Hey, you have to go to college, go to college, go to college.” We’re in a college. We’re getting the education in a college, but this is being paid for. This is an opportunity that is being provided. You’re walking into an education that’s being paid for you. It’s an “earn as you learn.” And I think this is probably the greatest program.
Rick DuPree, Gerardo “Chico” Rangel, and Tharija Rose take their turns addressing the DACC Board of Trustees about the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program.
For Chico Rangel, featured in a previous DACC release on vermilioncountyfirst.com, the general contracting and side jobs he had already been doing meant he was ready to move on when Quaker closed down. He entered the HVAC apprenticeship program, then became involved in the construction apprenticeship program; and now he’s running two businesses: Rangel Development and Solutions and TruHome Heating and Air. He’s sending youngsters that work for him to DACC’s program. Because after all, he went through it himself.
AUDIO: So I went to the program for the HVAC, and then the construction program was brought to our attention. I’ve got teenagers, they’re learning the projects, and how to use the equipment and stuff like that, and do general contracting. And I said, “Well I’ll do it first.” I’ve already sent three people; three of my guys.
Also at Thursday’s meeting was a youngster thriving in the DACC Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program. Tharija Rose always was interested in how buildings are put together. Now, she’s heading towards putting some together herself.
AUDIO: I grew up; and I’ve always seen, like buildings and everything, I always wondered like “how was this built, how was this honestly detailed through and through?” I would definitely say now; I can definitely say it’s a lifestyle, it’s a career; I can definitely see myself doing it every day on a day-to-day basis.
And also at Thursday’s DACC Board of Trustees meeting; new president Dr. Randy Fletcher’s four-year contract was approved. It will run from July 1, 2025; through June 30, 2029.
PREVIOUS DACC PRESS RELEASE STORY ON GERARDO “CHICO” RANGEL: https://vermilioncountyfirst.com/2025/06/16/chico-rangel-rebuilds-his-future-and-helps-others-do-the-same/
