St. Cloud Technical College

Driving Down Victory Lane
by Elizabeth Bouska

Lenny Illies

Ever since he was 15, Lenny Illies has been working on cars. Illies worked as a mechanic as a young boy until he was a junior in high school.

In 1979 Illies started his own business working on cars in his dad's garage. He attended SCTC in the industrial welding program. Later he changed to the automotive program and graduated in 1982. In 1983 he moved his business, Lenny's Crossroads Auto, to its current location behind Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud.

Illies has said that his education at SCTC was essential. As a student, he learned about the importance of continuing education to keep up with the constant change in automotive technology. "Cars today are much more complicated than they were years ago," says Illies. "These days you need to be a full technician. You must be able to read and understand what the data is telling you."

Lenny's Crossroads Auto has donated many vehicles to SCTC. By giving back to students, there are more opportunities for hands-on learning. By donating vehicles, students have to ability to tear apart cars and physically examine them.

Most of Illies employees are from technical colleges. One of his five employees is a graduate of SCTC. Illies is on the automotive advisory board at SCTC. As a member he attends meetings, gives advice on automotive curriculum, and helps determine what new technology the college should obtain.

When he is not working, Illies likes to work on hot rods and restores old cars. Presently, he is working on a 56' Chevy and a 63' Rambler. Since he was a child, Illies has always liked cars. He took a passion as a child and developed it into a business. Illies is fascinated with the complexity of automotives and cites, "the challenge of trying to figure out a problem car," as his favorite part of the job.