KAMLOOPS, B.C. — The University College of the Cariboo (UCC) president Roger Barnsley says he recently accepted a “key” donation from Western Star: a Constellation Series heavy-duty truck.

The 18,000-lb. truck, used for the last six years by Western Star’s engineering group as a prototype for testing purposes and in the design of new options and truck configurations, will aid up to 250 UCC Mechanical programs students a year.

“We greatly appreciate Western Star’s commitment to trades education at UCC,” says Barnsley. “This truck is a valuable learning resource for use in our commercial transport and heavy-duty mechanical programs.”

Presented under UCC’s “Tools for the 21st” fundraising campaign, Roger Nielsen, Western Star’s General Manager of Operations, made the donation on behalf of the company.

“We know this type of capital equipment is hard to come by, and we see it as a positive step for our communities,” he says. “Donating a truck for UCC to use in its Mechanical and other programs is just part of our commitment to the trucking community.”

Western Star is a subsidiary of the leading North American producer of heavy-duty trucks, Freightliner LLC, itself a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler.