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Trinidad State Junior College Partnership With Phil Long Dealerships Creates
Long Term Investment For Community
The Phil Long Family of Dealerships has a long history of investing in the
future of communities throughout the state of Colorado. The partnership
developed last year between Phil Long Dealerships and Trinidad State Junior
College (TSJC) has made a positive impact not only in Trinidad but throughout
Southern Colorado.
The collaborative efforts of Phil Long Dealerships and TSJC resulted in the
development of a new Automotive Service Technology program, added as part of the
TSJC Associates Degree of Applied Sciences. Committed to providing a state of
the art training facility on the TSJC campus, Phil Long Dealerships has agreed
to subsidize the equipment for the program; contribute to administration of its
faculty; and provide skilled technicians that will train and prepare students
with cutting edge technology to enter the competitive automotive industry, for
the duration and success of the program.
Phil Long Dealerships CEO and President, Jay Cimino said, “Joint ventures of
this nature have successfully existed for many years. Wells Fargo has a well
established partnership with the University of Northern Colorado, as does the
Alameda East Animal Hospital with the University of Colorado in Denver.” Cimino
adds, “Phil Long has established solid ties in Southern Colorado, particularly
in my home town of Trinidad. We are proud of these relationships and the
positive educational and economical impact they make; and we are proud to be the
automotive leader in cultivating a partnership of this kind with TSJC.”
Nearly a million dollars over a three year period will be invested in the TSJC
automotive program, with all equipment and improvements made to the facility
becoming permanent property of TSJC. Additionally, Phil Long Dealerships has
earmarked 2.5% of each repair invoice to be donated to the Trinidad Community
Foundation for education and scholarships within the community.
TSJC is governed by the State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational
Schools, which specifically authorizes all state institutions of higher
education to receive gifts or donations of either money or property, and goes
even further by encouraging the development of said relationships. Small public
colleges such as TSJC could not survive without the willingness of private
industry to dedicate time and money to the preparation of students for the
workforce. Agreeing, Cimino states “Opportunities for businesses to develop
similar partnerships are wide open. I believe in joint ventures such as ours
with TSJC, and hope that all businesses choose to invest in the futures of
citizens and communities throughout Colorado.”
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