LONG BEACH, California, March 29—Associated Builders and Contractors announced today that Clemon Prevost, a senior talent development specialist for Fluor’s U.S. Gulf Coast Craft Training Center in Pasadena, Texas, was named the 2019 Craft Instructor of the Year. Prevost was honored during the Careers in Construction Awards at ABC Convention 2019 in Long Beach, California.  

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 the future construction workforce.

“Clemon’s decades of experience as a craft professional and now as a craft instructor have been a great boon to our industry,” said 2019 ABC National Chair Tony Rader, telecom vice president of National Roofing Partners in Coppell, Texas. “By focusing on both the hard and soft skills required to succeed as a craft professional and leading by example, Clemon’s contributions to educating the next generation of construction workers are immeasurable. We are honored by his dedication to his students and the merit shop construction industry.”

With an associate degree in electronics technology from the College of the Mainland, Prevost spent nearly 35 years as a craft professional before transitioning into his current role as an instructor. Since he joined Fluor in 2015, he has prepared nearly 170 students for careers in the electrical trades with a 78 percent job placement rate as of November 2018. He cited the value of the merit system and emphasis on soft skills, such as being reliable and showing up to work on time, as key contributors to his success as a craftsperson, as well as the values he works hard to instill in his students as an instructor.

As Craft Instructor of the Year, Prevost received a $10,000 cash prize from co-sponsors Tradesmen International, North America’s premier craft professional staffing resource, and NCCER, the training, assessment, certification and career development standard for the construction industry. Rios will also be profiled in the May issue of Construction Executive magazine.

Prevost was honored today along with the winners of the National Craft Championships and Construction Management Competition and the Craft Professional of the Year. 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 69 chapters, technology exhibits, networking opportunities and a national board meeting.