SUNY Canton Expands CDL Training with $50K donation

CANTON, N.Y. (WWTI) – SUNY Canton announced that they have recently received a $50,000 gift from the Garrett Family Fund to purchase a blue 2016 Freightliner Cascadia 125 and new trailers for its Commercial Driver’s License program.

This gift was the latest in a series of donations given by Carthage native and 1972 SUNY Canton graduate Donald F. (Don) Garrett and his wife, Jamie Rhoads Garrett.

“ We are honored by Don and Jamie’s continued support of our college’s initiatives ,” said Vice President for Advancement Tracey Thompson Hastings. “ Their donations have paved the way for new opportunities for students in the Canino School of Engineering Technology and now will help fund our thriving continuing education and workforce development programs .”

The CDL program has expanded its classes now including CDL-B and CDL-B to A tracks, which are made to prepare more drivers for their license examinations. With the addition of the new truck, the program offers drivers the opportunity to drive and test in both manual and automatic transmissions.

SUNY Canton began offering CDL-A classes in 2019 and received backing from the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency in 2021. In 2023, 25 drivers enrolled in the program.

Additional information about all CDL programs is available on the college’s CDL Commercial Truck Driver Training page .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWTI - InformNNY.com.