Our Story

In 1952, Billy Bob Elkins was a senior in high school with a vision. He approached his father Bill Sr., an instructor at Brown Institute, with a dream to open their own technical school together. Billy Bob recruited three students for his father to train for their FCC radiotelephone license exam. With the money earned, Billy Bob created fliers and advertised their first class.

When the day came, Bill Sr. was shocked to open the door to twenty-three eager students crammed in their small living room! Enticed by the opportunity to skip school, Billy Bob set out to find a proper classroom. His father taught the overflowing class and assigned homework. Since Billy Bob was underage, he needed his father’s signature to lease a room for their burgeoning school.

Word of the Elkins’ success spread quickly. Soon they leased and eventually purchased an entire building, tearing it down to construct the new Elkins Institute. By 1968, they had six thriving schools across major cities like Dallas, New Orleans, and Atlanta. That year also saw Elkins go public, listed among the top ten Texas stocks and allowing expansion to twenty-one locations nationwide.

In 1994, Elkins achieved two tremendous milestones. A partnership with Electronic Data Systems brought the first interactive public training network via satellite. Additionally, the Institute received the third national FCC contract to administer commercial exams for aviation, communications, and maritime industries across the US and globally. This led to around 150 exam sites and over 50 satellite classrooms across America.

Tragically, shortly after these triumphs, Bill Sr. passed from lung cancer. However, he lived to see his son’s vision for Elkins Institute realized beyond their dreams. Though he is gone, the legacy of their school lives on in continuing to educate thousands of students.