Contact: Gerry Fritz, (703) 812-2062                             For Immediate Release                   
                                                                                       February 19, 2010  
Washington, D.C. – ABC today announced Ed LePage, a millwright/instrumentation/pipefitting instructor at ABC’s Cianbro Corporation, Pittsfield, Maine, as its 2010 Craft Instructor of the Year. LePage received this honor during ABC’s 2010 National Convention in San Diego.   

“Ed’s vast and expansive professional knowledge and his passion for sharing that with his students truly embodies the spirit and dedication of a merit shop construction craft instructor,” said Jim Elmer, 2010 ABC national chairman and president of James W. Elmer Construction Co., Spokane, Wash.  “Ed is respected by his students and his peers for his ability to explain complex processes in a way that all can understand and his willingness to help out no matter the situation.  It is an honor to recognize his impressive efforts to train the next generation of construction craft professionals.”    

Each year, ABC presents the Craft Instructor of the Year award to an instructor who possesses outstanding teaching credentials and demonstrates a commitment to preserving the high educational standards of the merit shop construction industry.    

LePage has nearly 40 years of experience in the construction industry and 25 years dedicated to instructing mechanical trades.  During his career at Cianbro, he worked as foreman, operator, welder, pipefitter, instrument fitter and millwright and now helps teach Cianbro’s 2,000 employees in the company’s training department.  He also serves as a subject matter expert for the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) on curricula.  

Additionally, LePage helps in outreach efforts by Cianbro and the ABC Maine Chapter to recruit and train new construction professionals.  He is actively involved in the ABC Maine Craft Championships, the ABC National Craft Championships committee and the Eastern Maine Community College Welding Program advisory board.  

As the 2010 Craft Instructor of the Year, LePage received a $3,500 cash prize from the Trimmer Education Foundation, ABC’s 501 (c)(3) educational affiliate, a notebook computer and leather jacket from NCCER and a Craft Instructor of the Year trophy.   

LePage, representing Region 7, was selected from a field of six finalists for the 2010 Craft Instructor of the Year award. The other finalists are:    

Region 1
Ray Drinkwater
Electrical Instructor
Construction Industry Training Council of Colorado, Denver, Colo.
Greiner Electric, LLC, Littleton, Colo.   

Region 2
Dennis J. Bartlett
Sheet Metal Instructor
ABC Iowa Chapter, Waukee, Iowa   

Region 3
Chris Weber
Welding Instructor
ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter, St. Rose, La.   

Region 4
Robert Clifton
Daniel Electrical Instructor
ABC Mississippi Chapter, Jackson, Miss.   

Region 6
Tim A. Rogers
Pipefitting/Welding Instructor
ABC Saginaw Valley Chapter, Midland, Mich.      

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Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national association with 77 chapters representing 25,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms with two million employees. Visit us at www.abc.org. 

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