Donation to polytechnic awards a win-win for school and auto dealers

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on April 3, 2025.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Justin Romeril, chair of the Crooks School of Transportation at Lethbridge Polytechnic says the funds received from LADA allows them to not only provide student awards, but also to purchase new emerging technology, so that students have the newest, latest and greatest technology to repair and diagnosis vehicles.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Lethbridge Polytechnic has received a large funding contribution from the Lethbridge Auto Dealers Association (LADA) that is being matched by the Board of Governors Matching Endowment initiative toward student awards.

LADA’s donation of $113,600 is being matched to a total of $213,600, which will benefit an existing endowment created by the association in 1997 that provides annual awards for automotive students and apprentices.

Jordan Dunlop, president of LADA, says their contribution was the result of their most recent fundraising efforts, which brings their total donations to Lethbridge Polytechnic to over $1.4 million since the partnership was established.

“It’s really important for us members to contribute back to the community where we live and where we do business,” says Dunlop. “And we think that a good way to do that is to support people who want to get into our industry.”

 He adds that there is a large demand for skilled trades people in the automotive industry and, by supporting the polytechnic to train these people with very high-quality education, it in turn helps to grow and strengthen the industry in Lethbridge.

“We support them with $10,000 a year in student awards and also $10,000 a year in new equipment, so that they are trained on the latest and greatest technologies when they entered the workforce,” says Dunlop.

Each year, LADA’s endowment at Lethbridge Polytechnic disperses four awards of $1,000 each to students entering the Automotive Systems certificate program, two awards of $1,500 each to continuing automotive apprentices employed by a LADA member after completion of their second year, and two awards of $1,500 each to continuing automotive apprentices employed by a LADA member after completion of their first year. 

LADA represents 16 automotive dealers throughout southern Alberta, including Bridge City Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, College Ford Lincoln, Davis Dodge Ram, Davis GMC Buick, Dunlop Ford, Gary Moe Lethbridge Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Gary Moe Mazda Lethbridge, Lethbridge Kia, Lethbridge Mitsubishi, Lethbridge Toyota, Lethbridge Volkswagen, McDonald Nissan, Murray Chevrolet Cadillac Lethbridge, Scougall Motors, Subaru of Lethbridge and Westwind Honda.

Justin Romeril, chair of the Crooks School of Transportation at Lethbridge Polytechnic, says the funds received from LADA allow them to not only provide student awards, but also to purchase new emerging technology, so that students have the newest, latest and best technology to repair and diagnose vehicles.

“Scan tools are kind of the first line when a vehicle comes in with the check engine light on, and those scan tools are changing every year,” says Romeril. “So we’ve been able to purchase the newest scan tools frequently over the years.”

He adds that the partnership with LADA is a two-way relationship as LADA members send their apprentices to Lethbridge Polytechnic to get trained, and the program in turn sends apprentices that come directly into the program to LADA members for employment opportunities as well as to continue their apprenticeship.

“A lot of the students that come out of our program are hired by the auto dealers association,” says Romeril.