The 2011 IEC National Apprentice of the Year competition concluded with me placing second, building the Rocky Mountain IEC’s winning streak to two straight years following last year’s second place finish by Ray Shorkey. Congratulations to Zeb Upton of IEC Fort Worth for winning first place and James Huggins of IEC Florida West Coast for rounding-out the top three in third place. A big thank you to Home Depot for the cash prize and to the other companies who included prizes: Klein, Ideal, Greenlee, Bosch, 3M, Ty-Rap, American Technical Publishers (ATP), and any others that I am missing. A huge thank you to all those at IEC who put together and staffed the competition as well as the staff at the Rocky Mountain IEC who made the trip and competition possible for me to attend, especially to Jake Jackson who supported me in the months prior to and during the competition. A special thanks to the Livewires who donated $50 to each of this year’s 26 contestants. Lastly, a thank you to Home Depot and Schneider Electric for sponsoring the competition.
The competition was very intense. All of the contestants earned the right to be there. We all competed with the constant knowledge that one mistake is all it would take to eliminate the opportunity to win due to everyone’s level of skill. I have never felt that much pressure in my life – the journeyman test is going to be a walk in the park after this experience. My nerves were fairly frazzled at the end of each day, and from speaking with other contestants, I do not think anyone got a good night’s sleep. The contest was as follows:
- Tuesday: 100 Question Written Test, 2.5 hours
- Wednesday: Ladder Diagram Word Problem, 30 minutes
- Wednesday: Control Circuit Wiring, 5 hours
- Thursday: Conduit Bending, 30 minutes (or 45 minutes, I can’t remember)
- Thursday: Troubleshooting, not timed, but took about 30 minutes total
The experience was great. I had the opportunity to meet some of the other contestants, company representatives at the trade show, and IEC national staff. Meeting other local business executives and owners who are on the board of the Rocky Mountain IEC was my highlight of the week: Wade Hamlin of N Line Electric; Curtis Miller and Brian Ream of CDM Electric; Janet Martin of Bret’s Electric; and Scot Schultz of Allcable. A thank you to them for making me feel welcome.
When I returned home, the company for whom I work, Encore Electric, invited me in to the office to show me an area where they put my regional wire-off trophy, a banner stating congratulations for 2nd place at the national competition, and a place on the wall for my national trophy. I was congratulated by a couple of the owners and many of the company’s superintendents.
What’s next? I will begin writing more articles here in the hopes that I can one day work up to writing an article with enough quality to be published. I also put in my application for my journeyman license last Friday. I will test as soon as I receive the approval letter in the mail. I will be furthering my teaching career by continuing to work towards instructor positions at both IEC and RRCC. I will always be improving my general work skills with classes and books, such as the PLC 3 class I will be taking next semester at RRCC and the time management class that I am taking this semester. Being an electrician has been a very enjoyable career choice so far, and I look forward to all of the opportunities I have in the future.
