NCCER Congratulates the 2019 SkillsUSA National Carpentry and Masonry Competition Winners

ALACHUA, Fla. — NCCER is proud to recognize the winners of this year’s SkillsUSA national carpentry and masonry competitions. The winners were announced on June 28 at the 55th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

More than 6,400 outstanding career and technical education (CTE) students competed in 103 different craft, technical and leadership fields. The competitions were part of the SkillsUSA Championships, which is the national-level competition for secondary and postsecondary students enrolled in CTE programs. Students not only test their knowledge and skills against industry standards but are given the opportunity to compete against peers in their craft.

2019 marked the tenth year that NCCER has sponsored the national carpentry competition and its seventh year sponsoring the national masonry competition. Carpentry Technical Committee Co-Chairs David Bates of The Haskell Company and Boyd Worsham of NCCER and Masonry Technical Committee Co-Chairs Jeff Buczkiewicz of Mason Contractors Association of America and Ryan Shaver of North Carolina Masonry Contractors Association led the way in organizing this year’s events.

NCCER is proud to congratulate the winners from both contests, which included secondary and postsecondary competitors. The carpentry high school medalists were Jacob Stage of Bedford, Virginia (gold); Zachery Lagasse of Lincoln, Nebraska (silver); and Logan Bloom of Alexandria, Minnesota (bronze). Carpentry postsecondary medalists were Bret Gleason of Omaha, Nebraska (gold); Cody G. Scheffe of Waco, Texas (silver); and Mitchell A. Davis of Wellsville, New York (bronze).

Masonry high school medalists were Grant Helms of Mount Ulla, North Carolina (gold); Jose Jaquez-Valles of Newark, Delaware (silver); and Dylan Cates of Stillwater, Oklahoma (bronze). Masonry postsecondary medalists were Ashton White of Salisbury, North Carolina (gold); Khalif Collier, Sr. of Albany, Georgia (silver); and Jesus Ruiz of Phoenix, Arizona (bronze). Ashton made history this year as the first woman to take home the gold in sequential years.

Winners of both competitions were decided based on the combined results of a written exam and evaluation of the competition project by a panel of journey-level judges. The contests are planned by technical committees made up of industry representatives to test the skills needed for successful entry level performance as a carpenter or mason. Due to their tremendous importance, safety practices and procedures were also judged as a component of each contestant’s overall score.

Members of the 2019 national technical committee for carpentry included Terry Westerman of ClarkDeitrich Building Systems; Robyn Bucknam of DEWALT; David Bates of The Haskell Company; Garret Thompson of The Haskell Company; Jay Wetterhus of Morton Buildings, Inc.; Tracy Chambers of Nabholz; Steve Greene of NCCER; and Boyd Worsham of NCCER.

The education team that assisted the carpentry committee included Troy Rupp, Beth Zimmerman and Les Zimmerman from Alexandria Technical and Community College in Minnesota.

Members of the 2019 national technical committee for masonry included Bryan Light of Brick Industry Association Southeast; John Bongiovanni of Bon Tools; Ray Leonard of The Brick Industry Association; Greg Ferree of Lehigh; Kim Haley of Marshalltown Company; Jeff Buczkiewicz of Mason Contractors Association of America; Tim O’Toole of Mason Contractors Association of America; Rolly Cox of Multiquip; Jason Thompson of National Concrete Masonry Association; Ryan Shaver of North Carolina Masonry  Contractors Association; Dan Belcher of NCCER; Peter Kiley of Oldcastle Architectural; Nick Blohowiak of Spec Mix; Brian Carney of Spec Mix; and Daniel Furr of Stalite.

The education team that assisted the masonry committee included Al Herndon of Florida Masonry Apprentice & Educational Foundation; Toni Herndon of Florida; Dan Hiltebeitel of Pennsylvania; Curtis Hoover of Center of Applied Technology North, Maryland; Todd Larson of Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College; Richard McKnight of South Carolina; and Richard Nagy of Ohio.

NCCER would like to thank the following organizations for their generous financial support and prize donations for this year’s carpentry competition:

Associated Builders and Contractors; The Associated General Contractors of America; Bechtel; Build Your Future; Carhartt; Calculated Industries Inc.; Cianbro; ClarkDietrich; DEWALT; Empire; Fluor; The Haskell Company; IRWIN Industrial Tool Company; ISN; Klein Tools; Malco; MAREK; McCarthy Holdings, Inc.; Milwaukee Tools; Morton Buildings; Nabholz; North American Crane Bureau; National Association of Women in Construction; Pearson; Pella Windows; S&B Engineers; Smith Levels; Stabila; Stiletto Tools; Sundt; W.G. Yates; Wood; and Worley.

NCCER would like to thank the following organizations for their generous financial support and prize donations for this year’s masonry competition:

A.C. Krebs Company; Belden Brick Company; BON Tools; Build Your Future; Calculated Industries; JagClamp; Marshalltown; Mason Contractors Association of America; Multiquip; Oldcastle Architectural; Pearson; Spec Mix; Stabila; and Warson Brands.

About NCCER — NCCER is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) education foundation created by the construction industry to develop standardized curriculum with portable credentials and to help address the skilled, construction workforce shortage. NCCER is recognized by the industry as the training, assessment, certification and career development standard for the construction and maintenance craft professional. For more information, visit www.nccer.org or contact NCCER customer service at 888.622.3720.

About SkillsUSA — SkillsUSA is the national organization for students in trade, industrial, technical and health occupations education. It sponsors the SkillsUSA Championships annually to recognize the achievements of career and technical education students and to encourage them to strive for excellence and pride in their chosen occupations. Visit www.skillsusa.org to learn more.