SFCC Showcases New Ag & Mechanics Lab, Residence Hall

A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house was held on the SFCC campus Friday for the college’s new residence hall and the Steve and Karen Ellebracht Agriculture and Mechanics Lab at 3201 W. 16th Street.

The event was attended by hundreds of people and featured speeches by SFCC Foundation Board President Ellebracht, State Rep. Brad Pollitt, SFCC Board of Trustees President Patty Wood, SFCC Foundation Board member Kyle Herrick and Missouri State Senator Sandy Crawford.

During an interview with KSIS following the ceremony, Steve Ellebracht said

As for Karen, she said the whole experience had been overwhelming.

“Oh my goodness,” Karen exclaimed when she recalled her reaction to seeing her name in big, bold letters on the front of the Ag & Mechanics Building for the first time.

“Once we finished the Olen Howard Building, we asked what are we going to do next?’ They moved very rapidly on this facility, which is fantastic. I mean, who isn’t going to support mechanics and agriculture? They are just so important to the community, and actually quite honestly, important to the world. You know, food is important everywhere,” Steve Ellebracht said.

Steve said that he left the Sedalia area for college in 1969 when Plywood U was just getting started.

“So when we came back about 10 or 12 years ago, and got involved with the Foundation Board and got a tour from SFCC (Foundation Executive Director) Mary Treuner, we were absolutely impressed. It’s a fantastic campus. I mean, it’s the pearl of Pettis County,” Steve told KSIS. “We just feel humbled and grateful that we could maybe help out a little bit in our own way.”

Karen, when asked about her thoughts on the drawing power of SFCC on the surrounding area for students, said that “I think that’s amazing, awesome, it’s fabulous. We’re very blessed to have this here.”

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Several of the Ellebracht’s family members also attended Friday’s special ceremony.

“Yeah it’s really nice to have some of our relatives here, and some of our friends from the area. I think it’s a great turnout and great support for State Fair Community College. It’s just a gem,” Steve said. “This is a milestone for the college.”

One of the relatives in attendance was Steve’s 94-year-old aunt Jane.

The Ellebrachts, who have been married 47 years, originally met in Columbia, although he’s from Pilot Grove and she’s “from The Hill” in St. Louis.

“When it came time to retire, we wanted to come back to Missouri,” Steve said, adding that he was never really enamored with living in St. Louis. “And she definitely wasn’t enamored with being “way out there in northwest Cooper County.”  So Sedalia was a compromise. “And it’s been fantastic in this community.”

According to Karen, “Sedalia’s amazing and the people are amazing. I’ve loved it here.” The Ellebrachts have called the State Fair City home for close to 10 years now.

Steve said that Karen describes herself as “not a farm girl, but a city girl who lives on a farm.”

In 2021, the Ellebrachts donated $100,000 to the State Fair Community College Foundation’s capital campaign to help build the Olen Howard Workforce Innovation Center on the Sedalia campus.

And in April, SFCC credited the Ellebrachts with giving a generous donation to the latest building project.

The 60,000-square-foot, $20 million facility will house programs that provide students with hands-on training in precision agriculture, agricultural mechanics, automotive and light diesel technology and commercial driving. The building is equipped with state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories and collaborative learning spaces.

Self-guided tours were available to the public wanting to see the new three-story “Campus Housing Complex” which has a total of 196 beds.

The college said the project was made possible through a combination of private donations and state support, representing the largest capital campaign in SFCC’s history.

Hamburgers and chips were provided by the SFCC Foundation and served by the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association.

SFCC Vice President Dr. Mike Murders chatted with KSIS after the ceremony as well.

“Yeah, I think obviously, like anyone, having the latest & greatest and some really fantastic facilities is a highlight, but I think the bigger highlight is how our community has been a big player in both of these buildings being constructed, and how we support the workforce, but also our other aspects of college education and training as a whole,” Dr. Murders said.

“So really, it's just a huge highlight to that community partnership, and how we are just one big piece of that. And we're here to, you know, highlight Sedalia and Pettis County. The other counties that we support obviously, and the economics that go with it, and the 14 counties that State Fair serves,” he added.

“ I know we tend to focus on this area, but these services reach out to all of those (counties). We try and find ways to reach out through our other extended campuses. And focus on those at times as well. But again, these programs highlight the possibilities for this entire central area of Missouri. And so, we're just hugely proud. It complements a 200-acre Farm. And establishes our ability to work with cattle on animal science. We have row crops, and we currently have things in process now and then, of course. That allows our students to think about the Ag business side of it, and they actually can plan with the Farms going to do,” Dr. Murders said.

“They can sell the crops. They can sell the cattle. They take care of them. So, what we're doing is not just offering Ag programs, but taking them to that next level and preparing them with experiences, and the things they need to be successful, because if you may be interested in farming and agriculture, but you want to make a profit out of it, he said.

“And then, of course, the new technologies we're looking in. This building is representation of that of the where new drones come in, how GPS, and what's the future of farming, you know. I may have a self-driving tractor that can run during the day where I'm not having to worry about things. While I do other things that type of thing I may not be hindered by waiting ‘til night time because it's cool enough. I can have it, you know? So it may change the life of a farmer and those type of things so, but it's those technologies we're going to have to be aware of and so forth. So that's this new generation of agriculture's coming out.” Dr. Murders noted.

"Your lifestyle as a farmer is changing. Think about how much it shrinks because of the timing and the hours that are put in. Farming's not easy work. It's not easy at all, and it won't be. It still won't be easy, but it might change it where? It changes what you're doing, when you're doing it and things like that, and how hard you have to work or maybe not getting up so early and things like that? There's so much involved, even on the animal side, you know? And from irrigation and watering to feeding systems, and having GPS type fencing to where maybe you're not repairing fencing all the time, and containing your animals and things like that. So, there's just the future is just wide open," Dr. Murders said.

“Also, we're thinking about how that ties into so many other things. Everything from sprayer certifications, and partnering with companies like MFA.

“Or commercial driving, because you don't transport without that, and people need to do that on the farm so we can train and how you move grain and those type of things. So we, although it's been there, we're really enhancing the that all those skill sets and opportunities," Dr. Murders noted.

Now SFCC has a brand new, three-story residence hall. That's something the community college needed for quite some time.

“Yes, it provides us the ability to more engagement and opportunities to bring in students that are further away and and give them that college experience and some are looking for, and then transfer to a four-year and have already went through some of those growing pains initially being away, but also it provides a place for folks who want to use a facility like this,” Dr. Murders said.

“It is a fantastic, small, but beautiful campus, it's really easy to get around. Sedalia is a fantastic community to live in, so there’s just no reason not to have these kind of dorms and fill them up and provide our students with even more opportunities to be educated,” he concluded.

Brent Hampy, who serves as director of SFCC’s Commercial Driving Academy, which is part of The LearningForce.

“We have a new classroom and a new simulator room, and parked right outside our back door are our four semis and one mobile classroom trailer with the simulator. So we can do simulator training in Boonville or Camdenton, or any location in our 14-county service area,” Hampy told KSIS.

Hampy noted that all the trucks have manual transmissions, “So it takes a little bit of time to learn how to double clutch, which is required on a state test. So we do that in a safe environment, easy to learn and easier on the equipment, before we transition into the truck,” he said of the simulator.

Hampy also noted that transportation is a very good career path.

“It pays well, and there are a lot of options within the industry. You can be home every night if that’s what you choose. There’s all kinds of trucks – dump trucks, over-the-road semis, concrete trucks. There’s a lot of need for CDL. It’s a great thing to have, even if you’re not going to do it full time. If you need to make money during the summer between semesters, or to help out a friend, do some moving, it’s a great thing to have,” Hampy stated.

There is certainly a demand for truck drivers in the US.

“We’re going to be short around 60,000 drivers, and the shortage is growing,” Hampy said of the current situation in America. “So we need to train more drivers.”

To successfully complete the course, it typically takes about four weeks, depending on the proficiency of the student.

“One week of theory online (required by FMCSA), and then we do three weeks of on-hands training. As soon as you are proficient, we can take you to test. For some people it may take five weeks, so it just depends on your skill level,” Hampy told KSIS.

“We stick them,” Hampy said of his CDA students. If you don’t pass the test the first time, we continue to train you and get you successful. We work with you until you’re ready to go.”