ABC May 3 recognized the winners in its 2013 National Craft Championships competition, held at the association’s 21st Century Workforce Development Conference, April 30 – May 3 in Birmingham, Ala. 

“This year’s winners truly were the best of the best,” said 2013 ABC National Chairman Greg Hoberock, CEO of hth companies, inc., Union, Mo. “Displaying high-quality workmanship, technical knowledge and safe work practices, each of them helped prove that the future of the construction industry and ABC is bright. ABC is proud to recognize these winners as champions.”

A field of 137 craft trainees competed for top honors in 13 crafts. Competitors first took an intense, two-hour written exam and then competed in daylong hands-on practical performance tests in: carpentry, electrical-industrial, electrical-residential, fire sprinkler, HVAC, instrumentation fitting, insulation, millwright, pipefitting, plumbing, sheet metal, welding-pipe, welding-structural. 

The 2013 winners are:

Carpentry      
Gold:  Daniel  deVitry                        
Training Sponsor: ABC Keystone Chapter
Employer: Benchmark Construction Company, Inc.

Silver: Phillip  Heffner                       
Training Sponsor: ABC of Wisconsin Apprenticeship & Training Trust
Employer: Northcentral Construction Corporation

Bronze: Matthew W. Sattison                       
Training Sponsor: ABC of Indiana
Employer: Brandt Construction Inc.

Electrical: Industrial
Gold: Joseph Fentross                        
Training Sponsor: ABC Southern California Chapter
Employer: LCS Constructors

Silver: Jose G. Vaca               
Training Sponsor: ABC Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter
Employer: Bergelectric Corp.

Bronze: Michael Wayne Armiger                  
Training Sponsor: ABC Virginia Chapter
Employer: MC Dean Inc.

Electrical: Residential
Gold:  Alex Showalter                       
Training Sponsor: ABC Keystone Chapter
Employer: The Farfield Co.

Silver: Christopher O. Anderson                    
Training Sponsor: ABC of the Carolinas
Employer: Watson Electrical Construction Co. LLC

Bronze: Jerome Fuller III                   
Training Sponsor: ABC Baltimore Metro Chapter
Employer: The Crown Electric Company

Fire Sprinkler            
Gold: Joseph Perry Jr.                        
Training Sponsor: American Fire Sprinkler Association
Employer: HTH Automatic Sprinkler LLC

Silver: Michael Scarberry                   
Training Sponsor: TP Mechanical Contractors, Inc.
Employer: TP Mechanical Contractors, Inc.

Bronze: Steven D. Carver                              
Training Sponsor: ABC Baltimore Metro Chapter
Employer: Advanced Fire Protection Systems, LLC

HVAC            
Gold: Jared Whitehead                      
Training Sponsor: Construction Education Foundation of North Texas
Employer: Aire Dynamics

Silver: Benjamin Morical                    
Training Sponsor: ABC of Indiana
Employer: Ellis Mechanical

Bronze: Todd Moolenaar                   
Training Sponsor: ABC of Wisconsin Apprenticeship & Training Trust
Employer: Manitowoc Heating & Refrigeration Services, Inc.

Instrumentation Fitting
Gold: Brett Goslinga              
Training Sponsor: Interstates Companies
Employer: Interstates Companies

Silver: Mark Plaisance Jr.                   
Training Sponsor: ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter
Employer: ISC

Bronze: Roy L. Griffin                      
Training Sponsor: ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter
Employer: ISC, LLC

Insulation
Gold: Derrick Ortwein                       
Training Sponsor: Greater Michigan Construction Academy
Employer: GE Insulation

Silver: Eric Koehnke              
Training Sponsor: ABC of Wisconsin Apprenticeship & Training Trust
Employer: L&C Insulation

Bronze: Jacob Jansen             
Training Sponsor: ABC of Wisconsin Apprenticeship & Training Trust
Employer: L&C Insulation

Millwright      
Gold: Shaun Gronda 
Training Sponsor: Cianbro
Employer: Cianbro

Silver: Waylon W. Jones                    
Training Sponsor: ABC Texas Gulf Coast Chapter
Employer: RPM Services

Bronze: Garrett Moore 
Training Sponsor: Robins & Morton   
Employer: Robins & Morton

Pipefitting
Gold: Brian Godjikian                        
Training Sponsor: Gould Construction Institute
Employer: DECCO, Inc

Silver: Mark Oxford               
Training Sponsor: Starcon
Employer: Starcon International Inc.

Bronze: Nathaniel Hall                      
Training Sponsor: Cianbro
Employer: Cianbro

Plumbing
Gold: Jared Gilbert     
Training Sponsor: ABC of Iowa
Employer: Royal Plumbing     

Silver: Chris Dakin                 
Training Sponsor: ABC Southern California Chapter
Employer: JPI Development

Bronze: Jason Bohn   
Training Sponsor: ABC of Wisconsin Apprenticeship & Training Trust
Employer: Bayer Plumbing and Heating, Inc.            

Sheet Metal
Gold: Clayton R. Courter                   
Training Sponsor: ABC San Diego Apprenticeship Training Trust
Employer: Southcoast Heating & Air Conditioning, LP

Silver: Erick Martinez                        
Training Sponsor: ABC Florida Gulf Coast
Employer: Express Metals

Bronze: Loren T. Hunter                    
Training Sponsor: ABC of Iowa
Employer: Draintech Inc.

Welding: Pipe            
Gold:  Matthew W. Maier                  
Training Sponsor: Starcon
Employer: Starcon International Inc.

Silver: Sidney McManus                    
Training Sponsor: Zachry
Employer: Zachry

Bronze: Gregory Meyers        
Training Sponsor: ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter
Employer: Pala Interstate Group

Welding: Structural
Gold: Shawn E. Wilson                      
Training Sponsor: Starcon
Employer: Starcon International Inc.

Silver: Maurice G. Hodgson IV                     
Training Sponsor: ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter
Employer: EXCEL Group

Bronze: William W. Bailey III                       
Training Sponsor: Construction Education Foundation of North Texas
Employer: TD Industries

The National Craft Championships competition was developed in 1987 to help celebrate and recognize craft training in construction careers. Each year, the competition draws some of the nation’s most talented craftspeople and highlights the important role that craft skills training plays in the construction industry. The National Craft Championships Committee, which is composed of leading merit shop construction firms, plans all year for the two-day competition.