Local turns his life around with Barton CDL program

Michael Fahrney is making a comfortable living as a feed delivery driver for Great Bend Coop, but only a couple years ago his path in life didn’t look as bright. He had been struggling with drug abuse, jumping from one job to another.

“I woke up one day and was like, ‘I really hate the way my life is right now. This isn’t what I want,’” he said. “I was in the dream center for awhile, I got surrounded by a bunch of Godly people willing to help me turn my life around. Then I got my CDL at Barton and landed this job. It’s such a blessing to have these types of courses offered. I wasn’t looking for a degree, just a certification. The instructors were awesome and the courses were put together really well.”

Fahrney said Barton made it possible to change his life with about three months of training.

“Barton worked with me on availability so I could practice driving,” he said. “Life gets busy sometimes, but it was really flexible and worked around our schedules.”

Fahrney’s story is just one of thousands of anecdotes illustrating the impact on real people in Kansas.