ABC congratulated the winners of its 2015 National Craft Championships competition during the March 6 Careers in Constructions awards held during the association’s Workforce Development, March 3-6, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
A field of 187 craft trainees competed for top honors in 15 competitions representing 12 crafts, including a new masonry competition and new team competition with journey-level craft professionals from five different crafts working to complete a joint project. Competitors first took an intense, two-hour written exam and then competed in daylong hands-on practical performance tests in: carpentry, electrical-industrial, electrical-residential, fire sprinkler, HVAC, instrumentation fitting, insulation, millwright, pipefitting, plumbing, sheet metal, welding-pipe, welding-structural and masonry.
The 2015 winners are:
Carpentry
Gold: Mark Rineer
Training Sponsor: ABC Keystone Chapter
Employer: Wohlsen Construction Company
Silver: Daniel Clark
Training Sponsor: ABC Northern Ohio
Employer: Wojcik Builders, Inc.
Bronze: Brian Hall
Training Sponsor: ABC Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter
Employer: Klover Contracting, Inc.
Safety: Brian Hall
Training Sponsor: ABC Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter
Employer: Klover Contracting, Inc.
Electrical-Industrial/Commercial
Gold: Varand Ghazarian
Training Sponsor: ABC Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter
Employer: LAC USC
Silver: William Wayne Figgins
Training Sponsor: ABC Virginia Chapter
Employer: Beckstrom Electric
Bronze: Shawn P. Flanagan
Training Sponsor: Gaylor Electric
Employer: Gaylor Electric
Safety: Andrew Golder
Training Sponsor: ABC Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter
Employer: The Tri-M Group, LLC
Electrical-Residential/Commercial
Gold: Jesse D. Babington
Training Sponsor: CECA – South Carolina
Employer: Watson Electrical Construction Co. LLC
Silver: Pete Rauls
Training Sponsor: ABC of Wisconsin Apprenticeship & Training Trust
Employer: Faith Technologies Inc.
Bronze: Russell H. Johnson
Training Sponsor: ABC of the Carolinas
Employer: Watson Electrical Construction Co. LLC
Safety: Joseph Emil Zazo
Training Sponsor: ABC Greater Michigan Chapter
Employer: Trahan Electric Incorporated
Fire Sprinkler
Gold: Jordan Bretey
Training Sponsor: American Fire Sprinkler Association
Employer: Rapid Fire Protection
Silver: Robert Taylor
Training Sponsor: ABC Baltimore Metropolitan
Employer:Advanced Fire Protection Systems, LLC
Bronze: Johnathon Dover
Training Sponsor: ABC Florida GUlf Coast Chapter
Employer: Cox Fire Protection
Safety: Jason Rogge
Training Sponsor: Florida Automatic Sprinkler Training, Inc. (FAST)
Employer: Wiginton Fire Systems
HVAC
Gold: Ty A. Balmer
Training Sponsor: ABC Keystone Chapter
Employer: W.C. Eshenaur and Son, Inc.
Silver: Daniel Mercier
Training Sponsor: ABC of Wisconsin Apprenticeship and Training Trust
Employer: AMA Heating & A/C, Inc.
Bronze: Parker Reed Lumley
Training Sponsor: ABC Cumberland Valley Chapter
Employer: RW Warner, Inc.
Safety: Parker Reed Lumley
Training Sponsor: ABC Cumberland Valley Chapter
Employer: RW Warner, Inc.
Instrumentation Fitting
Gold: Cody Petersen
Training Sponsor: Interstates Construction
Employer: Interstates Construction
Silver: Gerald Wayne Vick, III
Training Sponsor: ABC Pelican Chapter
Employer: ISC Contractors, LLC
Bronze: Marlen Harris
Training Sponsor: ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter
Employer: Triad Electric & Controls
Safety: Gerald Wayne Vick, III
Training Sponsor: ABC Pelican Chapter
Employer: ISC Contractors, LLC
Insulation
Gold: Mark Koch
Training Sponsor: ABC Greater Michigan Chapter
Employer: G.E. Insulation
Silver: Noel Ocasio
Training Sponsor: Starcon International Inc.
Employer: Starcon International Inc.
Bronze: David J. Wright
Training Sponsor: Starcon International, Inc.
Employer: Starcon International, Inc.
Safety: Randall Kubin
Training Sponsor: ABC Greater Houston Chapter
Employer: Brand Energy Solutions
Masonry
Gold: Maxwell Bond Kelley
Training Sponsor: Masonry Association of Florida and Educational Foundation
Employer: Kevin J. Brandel Masonry Construction
Silver: Abner Torres
Training Sponsor: Masonry Association of Florida and Educational Foundation
Bronze: Gatien Cesaire
Training Sponsor: Masonry Association of Florida and Educational Foundation
Employer: Modern Plumbing Industries
Millwright/Industrial Maintenance
Gold: Chad Bemis
Training Sponsor: Cianbro
Employer: Cianbro
Silver: Paul Temple
Training Sponsor: Cianbro
Employer: Cianbro
Bronze: Brian Loeb
Training Sponsor: ABC Texas Gulf Coast Chapter
Employer: McGill Maintenance Partnership, Ltd.
Safety: Chad Bemis
Training Sponsor: Cianbro
Employer: Cianbro
Pipefitting
Gold: Jeremy Fisher
Training Sponsor: TIC - The Industrial Company
Employer: TIC - The Industrial Company
Silver: Sean Aho
Training Sponsor: Gould Construction Institute
Employer: DECCO, Inc.
Bronze: Eric Neal Capps
Training Sponsor: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Employer: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Safety: Laramie W. Griffin, Jr.
Training Sponsor: ABC Pelican Chapter
Employer: Performance Contractors, Inc.
Plumbing
Gold: Matthew Elliott
Training Sponsor: ABC Southern California Chapter
Employer: Wallace P. Johnson Plumbing and Heating, Inc.
Silver: Bryan Weaver
Training Sponsor: ABC Southern California Chapter
Employer: Warren Weaver Inc.
Bronze: Manuel L. Garcia
Training Sponsor: ABC New Mexico Chapter
Employer: National Heating and Ventilating
Safety: Morgan Parks
Training Sponsor: ABC of Iowa Apprenticeship and Training Trust
Employer: ACI Mechanical
Sheet Metal
Gold: Brandon Oettchen
Training Sponsor: ABC of Iowa Apprenticeship and Training Trust
Employer: B&G HVAC
Silver: Kevin Strahler
Training Sponsor: ABC San Diego Chapter
Employer: West Coast Air Conditioning Co.
Bronze: Nicholas L. Miller
Training Sponsor: ABC Keystone Chapter
Employer: James Craft and Son, Inc.
Safety: Frank Hernandez
Training Sponsor: Construction Education Foundation
Employer: TDIndustries
Welding-Pipe
Gold: Waylin Lynn Brandon
Training Sponsor: ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter
Employer: EXCEL - Sponsored
Silver: Joshua White
Training Sponsor: TIC-The Industrial Company
Employer: TIC- The Industrial Company
Bronze: Timothy Nelson
Training Sponsor: Cianbro
Employer: Cianbro
Safety: Francisco Ochoa
Training Sponsor: Construction Education Foundation
Employer: TDIndustries
Welding-Structural
Gold: Brandon Moore
Training Sponsor: ABC Greater Houston
Employer: Jacobs
Silver: Joseph H. Matherne, III
Training Sponsor: ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter
Bronze: Joshua Prater
Training Sponsor: Construction Education Foundation
Employer: FSG Electric
Safety: Shawn Davis
Training Sponsor: Starcon International, Inc.
Employer: Starcon International, Inc.
Team Competition
Gold: ABC Iowa Apprenticeship and Training Trust
Pipefitting: Ben Mollhoff
Employer: ACI Mechanical, Inc.
Millwright: Ryan Knisley
Employer: Keen Project Solutions
Insulation: Mike Bradley
Employer: Iowa Insulation, Inc.
Electrical: Bryan Miller
Employer: Price Electric
Carpentry: Mitch Plambeck
Employer: Frye Builders & Associates Inc.
Silver: ABC Ohio Valley
Pipefitting: Robert M. Kelley
Employer: TP Mechanical
Millwright: Steve DeAtley
Employer: United Group Service
Insulation: Brandon Russell Cross
Employer: All American Insulation
Electrical: Robert A. Davis
Employer: Carey Electric
Carpentry: Joshua Terlau
Employer: Building Crafts Inc.
Bronze: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Pipefitting: Chadwick Bass
Employer: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Millwright: William Jeff Garner
Employer: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Insulation: Fidel Rueda
Employer: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Electrical: Francisco Barragan
Employer: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Carpentry: Jose Montejano
Employer: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
The National Craft Championships competition was developed in 1987 to help celebrate and recognize craft training in construction careers. This year, ABC partnered with the Florida Masonry Apprentice and Educational Foundation to hold the first masonry competition at the National Craft Championships. Each year, the competition draws some of the nation’s most talented craft professionals and highlights the important role that craft skills training plays in the construction industry. The National Craft Championships Committee, which is composed of leading merit shop construction firms, plans all year for the two-day competition.