Attention to detail.
It’s the little things that set our Brookfield High School building trades students apart from the competition in the Builders Association of Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania’s Adirondack chair building contest. Brett Carsone, Cadence Huffman, Aiden Jones, and Amanda Murphy won the overall school award with their product. The group was recognized at the association’s executive committee meeting held on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 where they were presented with a $1,500 gift card to Power Tool and Supply company to purchase tools and other supplies for the classroom.
“Mr. Iser and I are so proud of the kids,” says class co-instructor Adam Hughes. “This is an extremely difficult project, there are a variety of chair styles and the curves and angles of the cuts can be challenging to make and construct. Our kids worked hard as a team and truly built a fantastic product.”
The Builders Association has developed a partnership with local Educational Service Centers to bring the pre-apprentice program to schools in Columbiana, Mahoning, and Trumbull counties. The program at Brookfield High School has been in place since the start of the 2021 school year and provides students with an introduction to the building trades, tool usage, soft skills, and safety procedures. Students have built various products in the class including Adirondack chairs, picnic tables, wishing wells, holiday décor items, cornhole boards, and bunk bed frames. Those who complete the class have opportunities to earn the Ohio State Apprenticeship Council Recognized Pre-Apprenticeship Program Certificate of Completion and can enter the Carpenters Apprenticeship program after graduation.
“There are over 500 students enrolled in this program across the three counties,” says Builders Association Services Director, Gary Hartman. “We felt this competition would be a great way to showcase the program and the work students are doing in school, and we were correct. There is some outstanding work on display here, judging was a lot harder than expected and it really came down to detail.”
Brookfield’s team researched design ideas online before finalizing their plans. Their chair features stain and a charred wood finish to make it more durable in the outside elements and includes a side table that doubles as a footrest. Students also utilized the plasma cutter in the Makerspace to cut out three states of Ohio, placing one in the cupholder and the other two within the chair and then epoxied over them.
“I am so proud to see how this program is developing under the leadership of Mr. Iser and Mr. Hughes,” says Brookfield Schools Superintendent Toby Gibson. “This is an awesome accomplishment; the kids did an amazing job!”
Congratulations to our students and teachers on all of your hard work!