Welding Competition at KACC
KACC’s Annual Student Welding Competition was held Friday evening, April 13th. The event subtitle and slogan for the event was:
Friday the 13th!
Don’t Be Afraid of this Date –
Be Afraid if You Don’t Have a Career!
In order to keep everything on an even playing field, separate competitions were held between the first-year welding students and the second-year welding students. There were five weldments in each division. The first and second place winners were awarded prize money.
Of course with any competition, you need a team of knowledgeable judges, which we were delighted to have. Judging the welds was performed by:
| Name | Affiliation |
| Jacob Cothern | President, J.A.K.Student Chapter, KCC Weld Lab Assistant/Former KACC Student |
| Steve Granger | Owner, Granger Enterprise/Professional Welder |
| Todd Hartman | Welding Supervisor, Peddinghaus Corp. |
| Justin O'Malley | Vice President, J.A.K. Student Chapter |
| Mark Stevenson | KCC Welding Instructor |
| Bruce Webster | Professional Welder |
| John Willard | KCC Highway Construction Program Coordinator |
Before we get to the winners, there were many people involved in donating prizes and gifts including:
- Ryan Bower, Lincoln Electric: Variable shade quick-change welding hood and two welding jackets.
- Sharon Spangler, Faith Mountain Jewelry: Five pieces of hand-made jewelry
- Mark and Liz Stevenson, Stevenson’s Fabrication: Four gasoline gift cards
- American Welding Society Section JAK District 13: Monetary Awards and Pizza
- Mike and Sharon Spangler: Soda and Snacks
AND THE WINNERS ARE
First-Year Welding Students
|
Category |
Name |
High School |
Place |
Prize Amount |
|
S.M.A.W. |
Brett Ferris Nate Coggin |
Herscher Central |
1st 2nd |
$30.00 $20.00 |
|
F.C.A.W. |
Jarrett Galloway Kyle Gaddis |
St. Anne Herscher |
1st 2nd |
$30.00 $20.00 |
|
G.T.A.W. |
Nate Coggins Trent Weber |
Central BBCHS |
1st 2nd |
$30.00 $20.00 |
|
G.M.A.W. |
Nate Coggins Jake Ewoldt |
Central Grant Park |
1st 2nd |
$30.00 $20.00 |
|
S.M.A.W. Combo |
Mitch Grise Jarrett Galloway |
Manteno St. Anne |
1st 2nd |
$30.00 $20.00 |
| Second Year Students: | ||||
| CATEGORY | NAME | SCHOOL | PLACE | AWARD |
|
S/M.A.W. |
Aaron Napoleon Mason Knorr |
Central Central |
1st 2nd |
$30.00 $20.00 |
|
F.C.A.W. |
Aaron Napoleon Mason Knorr |
Central Central |
1st 2nd |
$30.00 $20.00 |
|
G.T.A.W. |
Aaron Napoleon Brett Bishop |
Central BBCHS |
1st 2nd |
$30.00 $20.00 |
|
G.M.A.W. |
Andrew O’Connor Jerry Barry |
Herscher BBCHS |
1st 2nd |
$30.00 $20.00 |
|
S.M.A.W. Combo |
Aaron Napoleon Dan Graf |
Central Grant Park |
1st 2nd |
$30.00 $20.00 |
In all, approximately 50 people, comprised of students, parents and friends were in attendance for the competition. Everyone was very complimentary of the welding students, the contest and the Kankakee Area Career Center as a whole.