'Attitude of gratitude'

RATHDRUM - Billy Gill served time for dealing drugs, but he's about to receive his welding certification and hopes to get a job to support his family.

The new faith-based North Idaho Training and Rehab Organization (NITRO) has given the 28-year-old Coeur d'Alene man that second chance.

"It's a great opportunity for people who have struggled and want to get back on their feet," Gill said of the program, which has a character-building component. "The welding part - yeah that's important - but if you want to keep a job you have to have good character."

NITRO's first class, a group that will receive welding certificates during a graduation on Saturday, came with resumes in hand to meet eye to eye with possible employers on Thursday at the Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC).

Bill Dick, of Mobile Service Technologies in Hayden, was among the employers briefed on NITRO, and had the opportunity to meet the students. He has already seen how the program changes lives.

Dick said he had to lay off Michael Cafferty because of slow business before Cafferty was arrested. He brought Cafferty back after Cafferty's release from jail, and said he's pleased his employee enrolled in NITRO.

"It has made a huge difference in Michael's life," Dick said. "I'm impressed."

NITRO, open to anyone who has a disability, is a partnership between KTEC and the Idaho Department of Labor. There is no cost to enroll in the program, which is funded by a combination of government training funds and private donations. All applicants go through a screening process and are selected based on their commitment, faith and character.

Family counseling and random drug testing are part of the program, with a zero-tolerance policy on drugs.

NITRO students are trained in a technical field for 150 hours at KTEC and have 65 hours of character-building and life-skills training. It is a separate program than what's offered to professional-technical high school students in the Lakeland, Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene school districts.

NITRO has given Gill a chance to "get roots for something good."

"Me getting caught (selling drugs) was a blessing from the Lord," he said.

Jordan Riley, another student from Coeur d'Alene, called NITRO "life-changing."

"If I wouldn't have chosen this path, I don't know where I'd be," said Riley, who has a fiancee and a baby on the way. "This was the best possible choice I could've made."

Rick Henson, owner-operator of Quality Powder Coating and Anvil Iron in Hayden, said NITRO is great from an employer's perspective.

"It's nice to know that you're dealing with somebody who has had good training," he said, adding that the company will likely hire one or two of the students. "The mentorship part is hard to teach as an employer."

Last summer Anvil Iron hired 10 welders and only kept two.

"Good help is hard to find," Henson said.

Anvil Iron general manager Lee Zahnow said he saw that the students were enthused about finding work.

Frank Genetti, NITRO director, said sometimes all it takes is for positive influences to come along to change lives.

"Many people who have been incarcerated just need hope," he said. "We just don't take someone out of rehab or prison, put them into a program and let them go. We are there as a support mechanism."

The result, Genetti said, is an "attitude of gratitude" from the students.

Ron Nilson, CEO of Ground Force Worldwide who helped start KTEC and collaborates with Genetti on NITRO, said the program is about forgiveness and teaching students paths toward success.

"These students don't want to be coddled," Nilson told the employers. "They don't want to work for a company that isn't going to hold them accountable. They want to be a part of this community as much as you do."

For more information on the North Idaho Training and Rehab Organization, contact Frank Genetti at (404) 370-2232 or frankgenetti@gmail.com.