Two Classes Held Concurrent Hands-On Learning Tours without Realizing the Other Was There
Wednesday (Feb. 19) must have been Wilmington College night at the Wilmington Air Park as two classes — each not realizing the other one was there — were on site touring major elements of the 2,000-acre facility.
PICTURED: A third of Dr. Tim Burgoyne's Strategic Management class is pictured during its tour of Amazon at the Wilmington Air Park earlier this week. They are, from the left, Ton Brady from the College's Advancement Office, Burgoyne, Trent Brown, Gabriel Nygard, Noah Wallis, Taylor McCuistion and J.C. Brewer.
Business professor Dr. Tim Burgoyne took his Strategic Management class to tour Amazon while agriculture faculty members Chad McKay and Charlie Weaver's Operations Management class visited Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services (AMES).
The 18 students in Burgoyne's class split into three groups as they toured the training and tech rooms, among others, where they learned about Amazon's sophisticated distribution system for delivering packages by airplanes, trucks and vans.
Amazon is one the world's most profitable businesses.
"They walked us through the entire process of how freight enters the facility to how it leaves for next day delivery," said Burgoyne, assistant professor of management. "Amazon Wilmington Airpark is a hub in their logistics network — not a spoke, warehouse or cross dock."
Amazon officials also introduced the group to recent college graduates who hold managerial positions at the facility. They led the tours, introducing the students to Amazon staff along the way.
"Amazon’s leadership team told the students about potential careers they offer, how to apply, whom to ask questions and the next steps after graduation if they were interested," Burgoyne said.
McKay, assistant professor of agriculture, explained that the Operations Management course he co-teaches highlights the importance of human resources being capable of applying mental and physical skills with applied science. Successful practitioners are able to combine people skills with creativity, rational analysis and knowledge of technology.
Richard Ratliff, director of maintenance with AMES. led the class tour during which he emphasized safety as paramount in the work environment. He showed the students planes being repaired or re-engineered to better serve the company's business interests.
In fact, students actually got into the cockpit of a plane and viewed the instrument panels from the perspective of pilots.
Weaver impressed upon the students that AMES' operation represents "operations management at its finest" as they use existing resources — such as airplane parts — to fabricate it into something new and useful.
McKay noted the hands-on learning experience will greatly benefit students who can relate the efficiency in operations from a business such as AMES to their own personal farming operations.
"This can be applied to many situations in which students one day might find themselves," he added.
The Wilmington Air Park is enjoying a renaissance following years of uncertainty when its primary tenant, DHL, left in 2009. Owned by the Clinton County Port Authority, the Air Park is an integrated aviation and logistics business park featuring 2,000 acres, 3 million square feet of building space and two runways — 9,000 and 10,701 feet — capable of accommodating 747 class aircraft.
The airport opened in 1929 as a simple airfield before the Army Air Force took it over in 1942. It became the Clinton Country Air Force Base in 1947 and was decommissioned as a military base in 1972. Soon, the Wilmington Industrial Park developed the area to include, among a number of businesses, Great Oaks Joint Vocational School, Southern State Community College and, in 1980, Airborne Express.
In 2003, Airborne Express merged with the German freight delivery giant, DHL, which operated a major package sorting center employing more than 8,000 workers from 2005 to 2009. Scores of freight-hauling planes arrived and departed the facility each night. DHL gifted the complex in 2010 to the Clinton County Port Authority, which, over the past decade, has overseen the resurgence of activity at the Air Park, including Amazon resuming its operations last June.
"Amazon’s leadership team told the students about potential careers they offer, how to apply, whom to ask questions and the next steps after graduation if they were interested," Burgoyne said.
McKay, assistant professor of agriculture, explained that the Operations Management course he co-teaches highlights the importance of human resources being capable of applying mental and physical skills with applied science. Successful practitioners are able to combine people skills with creativity, rational analysis and knowledge of technology.
Richard Ratliff, director of maintenance with AMES. led the class tour during which he emphasized safety as paramount in the work environment. He showed the students planes being repaired or re-engineered to better serve the company's business interests.
In fact, students actually got into the cockpit of a plane and viewed the instrument panels from the perspective of pilots.
Weaver impressed upon the students that AMES' operation represents "operations management at its finest" as they use existing resources — such as airplane parts — to fabricate it into something new and useful.
McKay noted the hands-on learning experience will greatly benefit students who can relate the efficiency in operations from a business such as AMES to their own personal farming operations.
"This can be applied to many situations in which students one day might find themselves," he added.
The Wilmington Air Park is enjoying a renaissance following years of uncertainty when its primary tenant, DHL, left in 2009. Owned by the Clinton County Port Authority, the Air Park is an integrated aviation and logistics business park featuring 2,000 acres, 3 million square feet of building space and two runways — 9,000 and 10,701 feet — capable of accommodating 747 class aircraft.
The airport opened in 1929 as a simple airfield before the Army Air Force took it over in 1942. It became the Clinton Country Air Force Base in 1947 and was decommissioned as a military base in 1972. Soon, the Wilmington Industrial Park developed the area to include, among a number of businesses, Great Oaks Joint Vocational School, Southern State Community College and, in 1980, Airborne Express.
In 2003, Airborne Express merged with the German freight delivery giant, DHL, which operated a major package sorting center employing more than 8,000 workers from 2005 to 2009. Scores of freight-hauling planes arrived and departed the facility each night. DHL gifted the complex in 2010 to the Clinton County Port Authority, which, over the past decade, has overseen the resurgence of activity at the Air Park, including Amazon resuming its operations last June.