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Savannah Technical College shifts gears with new Liberty Commercial Truck Driving Training Range

HINESVILLE, Ga. – Savannah Technical College celebrated the opening of its new Liberty Commercial Truck Driving Range at the Liberty Campus (100 Technology Drive, Hinesville, Ga., 31313). The new Driving Range has a closer proximity to Liberty Campus and will have space for more truck maneuvers, yielding larger classes. The range has overhead lighting, which allows Commercial Truck Driving (CTD) classes to be offered at night during spring and fall semesters.

“Everything we do is about workforce development and meeting the needs of our communities,” said Dr. Kathy S. Love, STC President. “Our expansion with this new Liberty Commercial Truck Driving Range will yield more skilled drivers to serve the thriving logistics industry in our region. We thank the leadership and voters of Liberty County for their belief and investment in Savannah Technical College.”

The $1.28 million project included $117,000 funding from Liberty County’s #4 SPLOST.

“With our region’s growing demand for truck drivers it is the optimum time to expand Liberty Campus with this new truck driving range,” said Donald Lovette, STC board member and Chairman for the Liberty County Board of Commissioners. “Graduates will look forward to immediate employment at a good rate of pay.”

The Driving Range features a 2.8-acre asphalt “pad” area for truck maneuvers and a  half-mile shifting track around the range. A total of eight trucks could work simultaneously on the driving range at one time with six trucks on the pad and two trucks on the shifting track. Ellis Wood Contracting, Inc. (contractor) and Thomas & Hutton (design engineers) worked on this project.

Commercial Truck Driving is one of Georgia’s high demand jobs that qualify for the HOPE Career Grant, receiving an additional $1,000. The HOPE Grant offers CTD students $657, reducing their total out-of-pocket expense to $227, which includes tuition/fees/CDL testing. For graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program, etc., visit www.savannahtech.edu/GainfulEmployment.

The next five-week day class for Commercial Truck Driving begins Sept. 21 at both the Effingham and Liberty campus locations. New students interested in enrolling in Commercial Truck Driving must be at least 18 years of age (21 years of age for interstate travel). For a full list of admission requirements, please visit: www.savannahtech.edu/TruckDriving or contact the Industrial Technology Academic Advisor at 912.443.5859.

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#1913 | Sept. 18, 2018

Commercial Truck Driving Academic Advisor: Secene Dorsey:
912.443.5859 or ssdorsey@savannahtech.edu

Media Contact: Amy Shaffer, APR
912.443.5512 | ashaffer@savannahtech.edu

Savannah Technical College Liberty Campus History

1967: The Savannah Area Vocational-Technical School was officially dedicated to serve the five-county area of Chatham, Bryan, Effingham, Liberty, and Long counties.

1989: Diploma programs for military personnel were established through the Army Education Center at Fort Stewart, Hinesville with 53 students.

1995: The office located at the Army Education Center at Fort Stewart closed, moving operations to General Screven Way in Hinesville.

1997: Savannah Technical Institute came under the governance of the State Board of Technical and Adult Education on July 1, 1997, as the fifth largest of 33 technical institutes.

2000: On July 6, 2000 Governor Roy Barnes officially announced the name change to Savannah Technical College.

2004: The Liberty Campus opened on Airport Road at Technology Drive in Hinesville.

2006: The Rene Kemp Industrial Technology Center on the Liberty Campus was named in honor of the late Liberty County legislator; Savannah Technical College opened a storefront office in the Paul R. Smith Army Education Center at Fort Stewart

2008: The Liberty Campus Library was posthumously named in honor of longtime campus administrator, Glenda Giddens.

2013: Campus space is renovated to create Cosmetology and Barbering suites.

2018: Liberty Commercial Truck Driving Range begins use for Fall Semester 2018. The new range includes overhead lighting to allow night courses, a half-mile shifting track and a 2.8 acre driving pad to accommodate six simultaneous truck maneuvers.

Savannah Technical College serves Coastal Georgia with quality, market-driven technical education with campus locations in Chatham, Effingham and Liberty Counties. Serving more than 10,000 credit and non-credit students annually, Savannah Tech offers nearly 150 different instructional programs in Aviation Technology, Business and Professional Services, Industrial Technology, and Health Sciences in addition to Adult Education classes, industry-specific training and continuing education. The College serves as an economic and community development partner for the region, offering corporate and customized training and assessment programs for business and industry.

Savannah Technical College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees, diplomas and technical certificates of credit. Questions about the accreditation of Savannah Technical College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).