( By Ric Dugan - June 16, 2012 )
Bill Rippeon, left, an engine instructor at Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, talks with student, Josh House, of Cumberland during class Thursday. A longtime employee of a Hagerstown land surveying firm, Richard Rice was thinking of a career change back in 2001 when he happened on the website for Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics.
The training and job possibilities sounded exciting, but Rice realized he couldn’t work and still drive from his home near Greencastle, Pa., to Pittsburgh for classes every day, nor could he afford to move to Pittsburgh.
“So I put the thought on a back burner,” Rice said.
Then late last year, having been laid off after “20-some” years with the surveying company, Rice heard that PIA had opened a campus at Hagerstown Regional Airport, teaching aviation maintenance technology.
“I saw it as the perfect opportunity,” said Rice, 53, who has been taking classes there since January.
The new Hagerstown school, which opened in April 2011, has become the perfect opportunity for many.
“It gives people in the community another opportunity to be successful,” said Hal Lucas, chairman of the Washington County Economic Development Commission. “And it provides businesses in the community with a ready pool of qualified talent.”
And now, the school has proven itself a magnet in helping the county attract a new employer.
Economic development officials, including Lucas, won’t identify the company yet or say how many jobs it will create, but they say PIA is a key to its decision recently to open a facility here.
“It shows that certainly, it’s a positive influence,” Lucas said. “It’s one of the positive influences that affect businesses which may want to come to the airport.”
“The school is a real asset for the airport and the community on many levels,” said Greg Larsen, airport business development manager for the county.
Read more and photos: http://www.herald-mail.com/news/hm-pia-takes-off-at-hagerstown-regional-airport-20120616,0,1415238,full.story
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