Col. Alan Will is a Marine on a mission and needs volunteers to help him execute it. His goal: to teach a new generation of warehousing professionals the skills to master forklifts. He's working with Paul D. Camp Community College to develop a warehouse training program. He wants to make sure the distribution centres under construction near that growing logistics hub have access to a quality workforce that knows how to use forklifts productively and safely.

His team has already identified a new facility with 8,000-12,000 sqft, (745-1,115 sqm), two dock doors, skylights, and good proximity to the transportation infrastructure. All they need now are funds to rent this facility for three years and the materials handling equipment to use in it.

"Our forklift training will include operation of counterbalance vehicles and reach trucks," he explains. "Many of the firms already operating distribution centres in this region utilise reach trucks. We only need 4,000 lb (1,815 kg) capacity for our training."

If you'd like to help Col. Will in his mission to arm tomorrow's forklift operators with the right stuff, contact him at abjbwill@yahoo.com.