NCCER Congratulates 2013 SkillsUSA Competition Winners

ALACHUA, Fla. — The winners of the SkillsUSA Carpentry and Masonry competitions were announced at the awards ceremony for the 49th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference held June 24-28 in Kansas City, Mo.   Nearly 6,000 outstanding career and technical education students joined in the excitement of hands on competition in 98 different craft, technical and leadership fields.

2013 marked NCCER's fourth year sponsoring the SkillsUSA Carpentry Competition and its first year sponsoring the Masonry Competition, with Carpentry Technical Committee Chair Boyd Worsham of The Haskell Company and Masonry Technical Committee Chair Bryan Light of the Brick Industry Association leading the way in organizing the events.

In carpentry, secondary level medalists were Garrett Thompson of New Philadelphia, Ohio (Gold); Ty Martin of Helena, Mont. (Silver) and Nathan Lewis of Harrisonburg, Va. (Bronze).   Post-secondary medalists were Seth Miller of Manchester, N.H. (Gold); Ethan Matlock of Fort Scott, Kan. (Silver) and Lionel Williams of Utica, Miss. (Bronze).

In masonry, secondary level medalists were Andrew Mullis of China Grove, N.C. (Gold); Steven Quimby of Haverhill, Mass. (Silver) and Chase Smith of Callahan, Fla. (Bronze).   Post-secondary medalists were Brent Austin of Concord, N.C. (Gold); Travis Moore of Poplarville, Miss. (Silver) and Mark J. Karhoff of Fort Scott, Kan. (Bronze).

Carpentry contestants framed walls using wood and metal studs, cut stair stringers and installed railing, drywall, baseboard moldings and window trim. Contestants were judged on accuracy, ability to read and interpret blueprints, workmanship and the proper use of tools and materials.

Masonry contestants were given a six-hour period to construct a composite brick and block project designed to test their ability to meet industry standards in quality. Winners of both competitions were chosen based on the combined results of a written exam and evaluation of the competition project by a panel of journey-level judges.

“Through these competitions, NCCER continues to support the development of a pipeline of young, skilled craft professionals to help combat the workforce shortages in our industry,” said NCCER Director of Instructor Certification Programs and Strategic Outreach Ed Prevatt. “We were excited to expand our support of the best and brightest career and technical students by sponsoring the masonry competition for the first time this year, in addition to our long-standing sponsorship of the carpentry event.”

The contests are planned by technical committees made up of industry representatives and are designed to test the skills needed for successful entry level performance as a carpenter or mason. Due to their tremendous importance, safety practices and procedures are also judged as a component of each contestant's overall score.