Ken Bestine hadn’t been in a classroom for almost 40 years when he entered the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) program at Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES.
Indeed, the first thing the Clymer man noticed was that “everyone else seemed to be 20 or 25 years younger than me.”
But Bestine wouldn’t be deterred.
“I couldn’t be intimidated by going back to school at 58 years old,” he said. “Once I got into the program, the staff was very accommodating. In fact, they were over-the-top accommodating.”
Bestine’s wife, Barb, said her husband had been “very determined” to obtain his CDL after suffering a serious motorcycle accident two decades ago. With dogged determination, Bestine enrolled in the Adult Education program at E2CCB and began taking classes at the Hewes Educational Center in Ashville.
What he hadn’t counted on was a relentless winter. “The guys were right there cold with me, but we got through it,” he said.
He graduated from the program in February 2025.
On a recent afternoon marked by torrential rain followed by bright blue skies, Bestine was awarded a scholarship by the District Superintendent’s Office Personnel (DSOP) organization.
Outside the CDL classroom at Hewes with his wife by his side, Bestine acknowledged his three amazing children and thanked E2CCB and its CDL instructors for helping him to realize his goal.
“The instructors were excellent,” he said. “I actually really enjoyed driving around with them. I looked forward to it a couple of times a week. It wasn’t ever really tedious for me.”
Barb Bestine, holding back tears, praised her husband for overcoming so many obstacles. “I’m just so proud of him,” she said.
During the gathering at Hewes, William Smock noted how he first spoke to Bestine about two years ago, around the same time he became Director of Adult & Community Education at E2CCB.
“It was incredibly inspiring to hear his story, learning that he was in a wheelchair and wanting to be able to drive a CDL truck,” Smock said. “His passion and his want and will completely drove the conversation.”
Bestine’s journey to the CDL program was born out of a “child-like want to buy a diesel truck.” He settled on a Ford F-450 flatbed; however, he soon learned that he would need a commercial driver’s license because the trailer he planned to use with the pickup would put the combined weight over 26,000 pounds.
Now, with his CDL in hand, Bestine plans to utilize his pickup truck to its fullest potential. He also plans to use the license to earn new income.
“I would recommend the CDL program to anybody,” he said. “You learn to give a lot more respect to guys who drive these big semi trucks for a living. I feel pretty lucky to have gotten an opportunity to do this.”
For more information on Adult Education classes at E2CCB, visit e2ccb.org/programs/adult-education/ or call Clarissa Stockman at 716-805-3138.
