The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors — National Association Educational Foundation recently announced the six plumbing students who received top honors in the plumbing championship held June 26-27 in Atlanta at the annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference.
The winners are:
- First Place Secondary – Wyatt Zeleny, High School Academy – Metropolitan Community College – Omaha, Nebraska
- First Place Post-Secondary – James Banks, Tennessee College of Applied Tech – Jackson, Tennessee
- Second Place Secondary – Charles Goede, E T Grasso Technical High School – Groton, Connecticut
- Second Place Post-Secondary – Migel Reyes, Texas State Technical College – Waco, Texas
- Third Place Secondary – Evan Agresto, Eureka Springs High School – Eureka Springs, Arkansas
- Third Place Post-Secondary – Diego Gutieirez, Mountainland Technical College – Lehi, Utah
The PHCC Educational Foundation and PHCC Academy partner with SkillsUSA to sponsor and conduct the annual plumbing contest and provide support for the HVAC contest. Members from the foundation’s Plumbing Apprentice and Journeyman Training Committee serve on the SkillsUSA Plumbing Technical Committee. Committee members were on hand to set up and run the event and to assist with contest judging.
Every year, more than 6,000 students participate in the SkillsUSA championships, the nation's largest hands-on workforce development event. This massive set of trades competitions features over 110 contests for middle school, high school, and college/post-secondary students enrolled in career and technical education programs. Among these contests are the plumbing and HVAC competitions, both of which receive support from the PHCC Educational Foundation.
“Each of these winners will be returning home with stories to share with their friends and family about their experience, spreading a positive image for our trade in their community,” says Kevin Tindall of Tindall & Ranson Plumbing & Heating in Windsor, New Jersey, as well as PHCC Educational Foundation chairman. “The boost this provides for our industry is impossible to measure but has a powerful impact that would be impossible to recreate on our own. Our mission is to grow and train the plumbing and HVAC industry workforce, and this event fits that mission perfectly.”
Technical committee members for this year’s event included:
- Robert Hahn, Technical Chair, HoHoKus School of Trades, Paterson, New Jersey (plumbing)
- Dale Powell, Project Manager, PHCC Educational Foundation, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (plumbing)
- Angela Collins, PHCC Educational Foundation, Falls Church, Virginia (plumbing)
- J. Daniel “Danny” Crigler, III, L & D Coates Inc., Aroda, Virginia (plumbing)
- Jim Fusco, Granite State Trade School, Raymond, New Hampshire (plumbing)
- Roman Grier, Viega, LLC, Broomfield, Colorado (plumbing)
- Victor Hatcher, Tyler Pipe and Coupling, Tyler, Texas (plumbing)
- Harold Moret, Copper Development Association, McLean, Virginia (plumbing)
- John Mullen, International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), Ontario, California (plumbing)
- Larry Shoemaker, Deluxe Plumbing & Heating, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (plumbing)
- Dave Svoboda, PHCC of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada (plumbing)
- Jeff Voss, Jeff’s Plumbing and Repair, Boone, North Carolina (plumbing)
- James Walls, Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute, Garland, Texas (plumbing)
- Jamie Simpson, Schaal Heating & Cooling, Des Moines, Iowa (HVAC)
- Warren Lupson, Lupson and Associates, LLC, Silver Spring, Maryland (HVAC)
The plumbing competition was made possible by several industry sponsors: AB&I Foundry, American Supply Association, Bradford White, Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute, Copper Development Association, Home Depot Pro, International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), Tyler Pipe & Coupling, Rheem, and Zoeller Pump Company, with additional support from event sponsors Delta Faucet Company and MOEN.
Prizes, materials, and on-site support was provided by: AB&I Foundry, Tyler Pipe & Coupling, Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute, Charlotte Pipe & Foundry, Copper Development Association, IAPMO, Kohler Company, Milwaukee Tool Company, Oatey, PHCC Educational Foundation, PHCC Academy, Sioux Chief Manufacturing, and United Association Local 72 in Atlanta.
