Kunes Chevrolet donates tire balancer and mounter
By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
A recent donation from Elkhorn’s Kunes Chevrolet dealership helped the Elkhorn Area High School’s automotive technology department get back on its feet.
The dealership recently donated a fully-functioning tire-balancer and mounter for students to use in learning and practicing the proper technique for mounting and balancing tires.
JoAnne Pella, Elkhorn Area High School’s Career and Technical Education coordinator, said the donation couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Our tire balancer has just gone out and it was not able to be repaired,” she said.
Pella said a lot of students are currently enrolled in the automotive technology classes. As a result, Pella said the program was in need of the equipment to ensure they could give up-to-date instruction.
“If we would have had to pay for that equipment, that would have been over $20,000,” she said. “That was quite a donation and it came at a time it was needed most.”
Pella said the school is incredibly grateful of the donation from Kunes as it now allows them to move forward with the instruction.
“We were delayed and now the students are getting the up-to-date daily instruction they needed,” she said. “That equipment is so needed everyday…that was a major push. That was a major contribution.”
Pella said Kunes Auto Group has been a strong partner with the high school since the start of the 2014-2015 school year and is currently mentoring a youth apprentice, Garrettee Anderson, at the dealership.
“Our school and tech program are truly grateful for the opportunities Kunes Auto Group has provided our students,” she said.
