PHCC Educational Foundation Conducts Plumbing Contest at SkillsUSA Championships

The members of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors — National Association Educational Foundation’s Plumbing Apprentice and Journeyman Training Committee conducted the first in-person national SkillsUSA plumbing competition since 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. AJT committee members serve on the SkillsUSA Plumbing Technical Committee and are responsible for setting up and running the contest and for assisting with judging.

The competition took place during the annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, held June 22-23. This was the first year for the event in Atlanta – having outgrown its previous home in Louisville, Kentucky. More than 5,200 students competed in 108 contests. The PHCC Educational Foundation partners with SkillsUSA to sponsor the plumbing contest each year. The foundation also supports the HVACR contest.

Six plumbing students received top honors in the plumbing competition. Plumbing contest winners were:

• 1^st Place Secondary – Tyler James, Four County Career Center, Archbold, Ohio
• 1^st Place Post-Secondary – Christopher Hayes, Pinellas Technical College, St. Petersburg, Fla.
• 2^nd Place Secondary – Nicholas Jordan Jacob, Smith Vocational & Agricultural High School, Northampton, Mass.
• 2^nd Place Post-Secondary – Brady Kroll, North Dakota State College of Science, Wahpeton, N.D.
• 3^rd Place Secondary – Tyler Cyr, Smithville High School, Smithville, Texas
• 3^rd Place Post-Secondary –Chris Martinez, Texas State Tech College, Waco, Texas

Technical committee members for this year’s event included:

• Robert Hahn, chair, Eastwick College, HoHoKus School of Trades in Union, N.J. (plumbing)
• Dale Powell, project manager, PHCC Educational Foundation, Gettysburg, Pa. (plumbing)
• Bob Carpenter, Viega, Broomfield, Colo. (plumbing)
• Danny Crigler, III, L & D Coates Inc., Aroda, Va. (plumbing)
• Laurie Crigler, Aroda, Va. (plumbing)

• Roman Grier, Viega, Broomfield, Colo.  (plumbing)
• Victor Hatcher, Tyler Pipe and Coupling, Tyler, Texas (plumbing)
• Warren Lupson, Lupson Assoc., Silver Spring, Md. (HVACR)
• Harold Moret, Copper Development Association, McLean, Va.  (plumbing)
• Larry Shoemaker, Deluxe Plumbing & Heating, Bethlehem, Pa. (plumbing)
• Jeff Voss, Jeff’s Plumbing and Repair, Boone, N.C. (plumbing)
• Jamie Simpson, Schaal Heating & Cooling, Des Moines, Iowa (HVACR)
• James Walls, Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute, Garland, Texas (plumbing)

The plumbing competition was made possible by the following generous industry sponsors: AB&I Foundry; Bradford White; Copper Development Association, Inc.; Tyler Pipe and Coupling; Rheem; and Zoeller Pump Company.

Additional prizes, materials and onsite support provided by: AB&I Foundry; BrassCraft Manufacturing Co.; Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute; Charlotte Pipe & Foundry; Copper Development Association; Milwaukee Tool Co.; Miller Mechanical, LLC; Oatey; PHCC Educational Foundation; Sioux Chief Manufacturing; Toto, Tyler Pipe & Coupling; and UA Local 72 in Atlanta.