"A generous gift from the Leo Caiafa, Jr. Irrevocable Trust will have a direct and welcome impact on students pursuing technical degrees and certificates at Amarillo College.
The Leo Caiafa, Jr. Tool Center will be established on AC’s East Campus by virtue of a $150,000 monetary gift the Trust delivered to the College on June 8.
Megan Eikner, dean of technical education, said the center will be located in the Student Services Center and could be open in time for the start of the fall semester.
The Center will be a combination retailer and lending repository at which students will be privy to considerable industry discounts and items they can rent or borrow – books, tools, and protective clothing – that support both their student and professional careers.
“This will be an amazingly valuable resource for our students, and we’re indebted to the Caiafa trustees for helping us make it a reality,” Eikner said. “Most of our students are training for careers in which they are required to own their own tools.
“A Tool Center helps us provide our students with options, both during school and as they enter the workforce.”
Leo Caiafa, Jr., who passed away in 2013, was a skilled mechanic who owned and operated Stockyards Service and Garage in Amarillo for more than 40 years.
The Caiafa Trust previously made a $100,000 contribution to AC to establish the Leo Caiafa, Jr. Scholarship, which awards a scholarship each semester to a student studying industrial technology."
-Joe Wyatt, Amarillo College
