I would like to tell you about a dear friend who has a wonderful attitude and is always a great inspiration to me.
Linda Hannah, pictured at right, is a 5'2" African-American dynamo who has become a front-runner in preparing young people for careers – specifically, in mechanical construction and other construction trades. Described by the Mechanical Contractors Association as “an expert on labor issues affecting minorities, a committed labor recruiter, and caring, compassionate advocate for a diverse workplace in the trades,” she has redesigned the former Skill Builders Program, now calling it the New Skill Builders Program.
Through the program, Linda directs unprepared applicants to community organizations, churches, and Workforce Centers, where classes in math and reading will prepare them for the New Skill Builders 13-week class.
“When they come to our 13-week program, we introduce them to the trades, basic construction skills, interviewing skills, time management skills, budgeting, and conduct test preparation classes,” Linda said. “We teach them the expectations of the construction industry, and show them what they can expect from the trades. These young people didn’t realize they could get paid while they go through an apprenticeship program and make $60,000 or $70,000 a year when they complete the program – plus get great health and welfare benefits.”
Linda has a long history as a recruiter for Chicago-based Pipefitters Local Union 597, which is led by Business Manager James Buchanan. Linda has become an expert at getting students excited about the four-year apprenticeship program at the Local 597 Training Center. She sees construction careers as hugely under-valued by the public and works to get minority students involved in an education program that has become high-tech, often leading to the independence of owning a business.
For a woman who began her career in bank management, Linda found her greatest career gratification when she realized how many African-American teens simply had no idea how to go about finding the right career for themselves and preparing for that career. “Mentors should have a sincere ‘like’ for teens and remember their own teen years,” she said. “A mentor should be willing to share a piece of their life history – go beyond lecturing – be shock proof and, above all, not be in need of immediate gratification.” Linda has done all of those things and more.
She has used her motivational philosophy to provide pro bono technical assistance for start-up mentorship programs such as: The African-American State Farm Insurance Agents; Sisters in the Brotherhood Mentorship Program (carpenters); and the Chicago Freedom School. She believes the absence of mentors’ causes too many teens and young adults re-entering society to remain disconnected from the mainstream of society.
While she knows that mentoring is not a cure-all, she believes in the African proverb: Each one teach one. She is willing to teach as many program managers and mentors as possible so that her concepts can be replicated. Linda is a member of the Illinois Tollway Advisory Committee. She sits on the Boards of Cosmopolitan Chamber of Commerce, the Chicago Girls Coalition, and Youth Connection Charter Schools, and is the past chair of Girls Best Friend Foundation.
The 5'2" dynamo is doing her share, and more, to bring young African-Americans into an industry that welcomes them with open arms and offers a bright future.
Linda is a great inspiration to me because she is always so cheerful, positive and helpful, and always thinks of others before herself. Tell us about a woman who is a great inspiration to you, and why!
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