Right now, there isn’t a seat in the house in Decker Auditorium at Iowa Central Community College. There is, however, a whole lot of scaffolding and other construction materials in there.

The seats went out and the scaffolding came in as the 1978 vintage auditorium undergoes a major overhaul to become part of the college’s new Center for the Performing Arts.

And once again, the Decker family of Fort Dodge is stepping forward to help make it happen. Earlier this month, Don and Dianne Decker donated $1 million to help pay for the renovation work.

The auditorium was named for his parents in 2006.

This is far from the first time that the Decker family has made a key donation to help make something good happen on the Fort Dodge campus.They have funded scholarships, helped pay for a scoreboard in Hodges Fieldhouse and provided matching funds to buy equipment for the college’s truck driver training program. That is a program that is very important to Don Decker, who in addition to being an Iowa Central alum is the chairman of the board of Decker Truck Line Inc.

Yes, the college is a key provider of trained workers for Decker’s business, but when he made the recent donation Decker acknowledged the far wider impact that the college has on Fort Dodge and the region.

He said “Iowa Central is an integral part of our region and when Iowa Central grows, our communities benefit. Supporting Iowa Central is important as they have a significant role in training our workforce and adding value to our economy.”

We think he is exactly right.

It is refreshing that he and his family have consistently taken that view, and as a result hundreds of students have benefitted.

We thank the Decker family for its ongoing support of Iowa Central Community College.