Altus, Oklahoma
MAD Auto in Altus recently received the Outstanding Business/Industry Partner Award from the Oklahoma Career and Technical Education Equity Council.
The business was one of four businesses and organizations honored along with 12 Oklahomans at the 27th annual Making It Work Day at the Capitol in a virtual ceremony April 30. Making It Work Day recognizes individuals who are committed to removing barriers to success for single-parent families by providing educational experiences for students beyond the classroom. The ceremony also recognized nontraditional students.
MAD Auto works with the POWER Program at Western Oklahoma State College to help students keep their cars on the road, said Leslie Brown, POWER Program director, who nominated the business for the award.
“MAD Auto is my on-call mechanic all the time,” Brown said. “When a student’s care breaks down in the middle of lunch and cannot be driven any further, I know I can call MAD Auto, and they will be there to help in a jiffy.”
The mechanics also advise students on how to maintain their vehicles, and the owner has helped students find good used, affordable cars, Brown said.
“The POWER Program appreciates the help and resources Andy and the guys at MAD Auto give to our students,” she said. “It makes a big difference in a single mom’s life when she can get her car on the road again or find a used car in her price range that is reliable.”
OkCTEEC is affiliated with the administrative division of the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education. The council advocates for students pursuing nontraditional careers and for resources for educating single parents.
“The Making It Work Day ceremony is such an important part of OkCTEEC as it publicly acknowledges those students, programs and business partners that have done an outstanding job meeting their career goals,” said KayTee Niquette, Work Prep and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families coordinator at the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. “The event this year is even more important, as we have persevered through a pandemic and still have individuals who have excelled.”
She serves as an adviser for OkCTEEC, along with Lisa French of the Department of Human Services and Gina McPherson of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
The COVID-19 pandemic created challenges, said Lisa D. Brown, OkCTEEC president and director for career transitions at Oklahoma City Community College, but students, faculty, staff and community partners met the challenges head-on, redesigning traditional methods of assistance and education.
“These students have persevered through the many changes in their pursuit of their goals and even some events in their own families,” she said. “In addition to their academic success, they have strengthened even more skills in communication, collaboration, adaptation and endurance that will be of great benefit as valuable life skills they will never forget they developed or discovered they had.”
OkCTEEC’s purposes include promoting and supporting career and technology education, increasing its effectiveness, promoting research in the field and in educational equity, developing leadership and advocating for equity and diversity.
For more information about OkCTEEC, visit https://www.cteec.org/okcteec. For more information about the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, visit www.okcareertech.org.
