WASHINGTON, March 26—Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) named the nation’s top craft professional and craft instructor during ABC Convention 2018 last week in Long Beach, Calif.  Richard Brown of Gaylor Electric Inc. was named 2018 Craft Professional of the Year, and William Fuller of ABC’s Greater Houston Chapter was named 2018 Craft Instructor of the Year.

“Our 2018 honorees demonstrate an uncompromising commitment to safety, professional development, the highest quality of construction and client satisfaction,” said 2018 ABC National Chair George R. Nash Jr., director of preconstruction at Branch & Associates in Herndon, Va. “Richard Brown and William Fuller are tremendous ambassadors for the merit shop construction industry through their dedication to their jobs and their communities, and ABC is thrilled to honor them.”

Each year, ABC presents the Craft Professional of the Year award to a construction craft professional who excels in his or her field while also demonstrating a commitment to safety, training and the merit shop philosophy. Brown was selected from among four finalists. Brown started his electrical career in Jamaica and later moved to the United States and completed a four-year ABC apprenticeship program, excelling as a service technician at Gaylor Electric.  He is a veteran of six mission trips to Jamaica and Panama, where he uses his skills to help build medical clinics. Brown will receive a brand new 2018 Ram Tradesman truck from the award’s exclusive sponsor, Tradesmen International, with support from FCA.

ABC presents the annual Craft Instructor of the Year Award to an instructor who possesses outstanding creativity, a positive attitude and the ability to transfer knowledge through communications skills and innovative teaching to promote lifelong learning to our future workforce. Fuller was selected from among five finalists as the instructor who best embodies merit shop ideals through superior effort and talent in his role as manager of safety and technical training at ABC Greater Houston Chapter’s Construction & Maintenance Education Foundation. He teaches multiple crafts utilizing the NCCER curriculum, including carpentry, scaffolding, rigging, crane, heavy equipment, crew leadership, boilermaking and CSST, bringing enthusiasm and passion to the classroom.  Fuller received a $10,000 cash prize from award sponsors NCCER and the Trimmer Construction Education Fund.

Brown and Fuller were honored at the Careers in Construction Awards on March 22 along with the winners of the National Craft Championships and Construction Management Competition. ABC’s convention also features the Excellence in Construction^® Awards, Contractor of the Year, National Safety Excellence Awards, National Diversity Excellence Awards, keynote speakers and education sessions for ABC members and staff from 70 chapters, technology exhibits, networking opportunities and a national board meeting.