Building & contracting trainees across the U.S. compete in Florida.

The Code Council’s Lee Clifton, Director of PMG Resources/Government Relations, participated as a judge for the plumbing and pipefitting craft competitions.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) announced the winners of the 30th annual National Craft Championships (NCC) during its Careers in Construction awards ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The ceremony took place March 3 at the conclusion of ABC’s Workforce Week 2017. NCC is a part of ABC’s effort to raise the profile of careers in construction and highlight the $1.1 billion that ABC member companies spend annually on workforce development.

This year’s field of competitors featured nearly 170 craft professionals from 28 states competing for top honors in 13 competitions across 11 crafts. Competitors first took an intense, two-hour written exam and then competed in a daylong hands-on practical performance test. Cash prizes were awarded to medal winners, with gold medal winners taking home $750, silver medal winners earning $500 and bronze medal winners receiving $350.

The International Code Council’s Charles “Lee” Clifton, Director of PMG Resources/Government Relations, participated again as a judge for the plumbing and pipefitting craft competitions.

Congratulations to this year’s plumbing and pipefitting competition winners:

Plumbing

• Wade Allen Fuller — Training Sponsor, ABC Iowa Chapter; Employer, Bill Rhiner’s Plumbing.
• Johnathan Davis — Training Sponsor, Shapiro & Duncan Inc.; Employer, Shapiro & Duncan Inc.
• Rolf Wachter — Training Sponsor, ABC San Diego Chapter; Employer, Interpipe Contracting Inc.

Pipefitting

• Joel Dutton — Training Sponsor, Construction Education Foundation of North Texas; Employer, TDIndustries.
• William Kelley — Training Sponsor, Gould Construction Institute; Employer, Notch Mechanical Consructors.
• Jordan Ray McPherson — Training Sponsor, Construction Education Foundation of North Texas; Employer, TDIndustries.

During the competition, more than 200 local high school students toured the NCC Expo, which also featured masonry and power line demonstrations, welding simulators, a crane simulator, an interactive fall-protection demonstration, tool and training demonstrations, and representatives from several local contractors.

The 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 craft professionals and highlights the important role that craft skilled trades 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.

A list of the winners is available on ABC’s website.