Local Carpenters walk in city’s annual Welcome Santa Holiday Parade

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Source:ohio.com

A relentless drizzle and temperatures in the low 40s weren’t enough to knock the Christmas spirit out of about 3,000 parade-goers Saturday morning in downtown Akron.

Spectators lined both sides of Main Street, three or four deep in some places, as more than 75 units slogged through the rain in the city’s annual Welcome Santa Holiday Parade.

Although the event is a longstanding local tradition, there was nothing remotely provincial about it. Among the spectators was a woman from Cleveland Heights who said she makes the trip often because nothing in Cleveland matches up.

“We come here because it’s a very nice family occasion for the Christmas holidays,” said Kathie Demetz. “We have a lot of nice Christmas activities in Cleveland, but we don’t have a nice parade like this.”

She was sitting in a folding chair between her grandchildren, Sammy Grace, 4, and Bear Grace, 2. All three wore Santa caps. Bear wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as the other two, occasionally nodding off in his stroller.

Older kids along the route scampered around in the rain, fishing candy out of puddles.

Parade announcer Jasen Sokol of WAKR (1590-AM) noted early on that the day coincided with the big Ohio State-Michigan football game. His call of “O-H” elicited a boisterous “I-O” response from those near the main stage, located in front of KeyBank, directly across from Lock 3.

Someone else suggested adding a cheer for another hometown favorite. “What about the Zips?” yelled out a woman across the street.

Sokol immediately jumped onboard, pointing out that the University of Akron is bowl-bound after Friday’s win over archival Kent State. The enthusiastic Zip fan also was an out-of-towner — the mother of redshirt freshman Hayden Grover, a long snapper from upstate New York.

Grover’s mother, Kim, and father, Jeff, made the 5½-hour drive not only to watch Friday’s game but also to watch their son sing with Nuance, UA’s all-male a capella group, which took the stage at the close of the parade.

The Grovers have become huge fans of the school and the city.

“We’re thrilled,” said Jeff. “Coach [Terry] Bowden’s done a great job. We’ve fallen in love with the city of Akron and the whole Akron community. It’s been an overall positive experience for our son here.”

Nuance performed briefly before hiking across the street with Santa. Yes, Santa arrived on schedule despite the absence of snow.

Although no reindeer were visible, the hourlong parade included horses and dogs and elves, oh my.

The units spanned the spectrum, from unicyclists to police and fire to private contractors to classic automobiles to public officials to dancers and marching bands of all ages.

Kids Caring for the Community program awards funds to local elementary school

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For the past four years, the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) has been partnering with local elementary schools to promote volunteerism and giving back to the community through its Kids Caring for the Community service program. Participating schools throughout Northwest Indiana complete service projects and are entered in a drawing to receive a monetary award as recognition for their community service.

Each year, Kids Caring for the Community awards $9,000 total to participating elementary schools in Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties. One winner from each county is chosen. There are four total Kids Caring for the Community sessions throughout the academic year, giving local elementary schools multiple opportunities to be selected as winners.

Local 1485 IKORCC Representative John Carr is proud to see the IKORCC families involved in the program. “Many students participating in the Kids Caring for the Community program are children of IKORCC members,” said Carr. “It is so rewarding to know the impact this program will make for many generations to come. When we teach our children to serve, we know the results will be far-reaching.”

LaPorte County schools that participated in Session 1 include Crichfield Elementary, Westville Elementary, Indian Trail Elementary, Kingsford Heights Elementary, Knapp Elementary and Rolling Prairie Elementary.

Last month, Crichfield Elementary was selected in a blind drawing of participating schools as the Session 1 winner for LaPorte County. As their service project, students collected pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House supports families of children being treated for cancer and other serious illnesses or trauma while the child receives treatment at a nearby hospital or medical treatment center. To reach their goal of collecting 100 gallons of pop tabs this school year, students made posters and gave speeches about their service project.

Donna Biggs, Principal of Crichfield Elementary School, was thrilled to see the kids’ hard work being recognized. “Our student council and K Kids Club are very active in the community, and we love helping the students get excited about giving back.” Biggs said the school plans to use the awarded funds for a Buddy Bench for their playground, which is a place where students can go when they don’t have anyone to play with. The goal of the bench is to eliminate loneliness and encourage friendship on the playground. Additionally, Crichfield Elementary will be starting a Striders Club in the spring to promote more physical activity.

For more information, please contact John Carr, IKORCC Representative, at jcarr@ikorcc.com.

Who are my elected officials in Indiana?

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The Indiana Secretary of State’s office provides a great website for you to check out your elected officials. You can enter address in top left corner, and narrow results on right hand side all the way to school district! With contact information provided, we encourage everyone to reach out to your elected officials regarding issues of concern.

Carpenters advocate for hands-on educational opportunities in schools

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LEBANON, Ind. – Earlier this month, Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) training director, Todd Pancake, was a featured presenter at an Elevating Work & Learn in Indiana event at Lebanon High School. Pancake gave an overview of the IKORCC apprenticeship program.

“It was a great honor to be invited to speak at the event,” said Pancake. Among others, both Governor Mike Pence and Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann addressed attendees.

Elevating Work & Learn in Indiana targets residents in Indiana in an effort to educate them on potential career opportunities. It encourages schools, businesses and educators to create and identify opportunities to expose individuals seeking employment to viable work environments.

During his presentation, Pancake discussed the model of the IKORCC apprenticeship as a great example of a “work and learn” environment that fuels the pipeline for “high-wage, high-demand” careers in the construction industry.

“Our apprenticeship program,” said Pancake, “has so much to offer in terms of being a great model of how to marry classroom training with real on-the-job experiences. We are thrilled to share with others what we are doing.”

Fourth year carpenter apprentice, Kraig Bergman, shared the value the apprenticeship program has had on his ongoing career.

“We are so grateful for the opportunity to increase work and learn opportunities throughout the state for future generations through our partnerships with the Indiana Career Council and Works Councils,” said IKORCC member and Indiana Region 6 Works Council member Tim Conley.

For more detailed information, please contact Tim Conley at tconley@ikorcc.com

Carpenters Union Hosts Food Drive for Local Pantry Just in Time for Thanksgiving

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LA PORTE, Ind.- Last month, Carpenters from the The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) Local 1485 donated food, toiletries and other essentials to the Center Township Food Pantry & Resource Center. The Resource Center is coordinated by LaPorte’s trustee Lisa Pierzakowski.

Volunteers from We Stand joined Local 1485 for the food drive. We Stand is an organization consisting of spouses and companions of Local 1485 carpenters who develop different ways to give back to the community. “Resource centers do a lot of good for their communities as do local carpenters. We realize you have to build up the entire community not just certain sectors,” said We Stand Representative Angela Carr. “This resource center wants to improve the economic situation by putting local citizens to work, which drives us to help them more.”

We Stand members and Local 1485 Carpenters reached out to local grocery stores to promote and set up drop off sites for people to donate food and toiletry items for the pantry. In mid-September, they hosted the weekend-long food drive at La Porte Al’s Supermarket locations and the La Porte Savings Bank.

They also reached out to their locals members who contributed items at their bi-monthly meetings. In addition to the items and food donated, Local 1485 and We Stand presented the food panty with a check for $1,000. Carr added, “Holidays can be especially difficult for some families, so we were excited to take part in this food drive.”
For more information, please contact John Carr jcarr@ikorcc.com

Carpenters Union Builds Santa’s Sleigh for Holiday Parade

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CLEVELAND, Ohio – Earlier this month, Carpenters from the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) Local 435 Member Action Committee (MAC) volunteered to build Santa’s sleigh for the Light Up Lorain Waterfront Winterfest parade.

To kick off the Christmas season, Light Up Lorain Waterfront Winterfest is an annual two- day celebration held in Lorain that includes a lighting ceremony at Veterans Park, visits with Santa at Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen and an annual parade on Broadway and West Erie Avenue. This year, the celebration will be held on Nov. 28 and 29.

Director of the Lorain Port Authority Stephen W. Bansek was thrilled to accept the donation of the Santa sleigh that was designed, constructed and painted by the Carpenters Union. “We could not be happier for their help. Our community looks forward to the fest every year. We are thankful for all who made this possible, specifically Local 435 carpenters, John Muriello and Loren Haskins.”

Upon completion of the sleigh, Santa and Mrs. Claus visited Muriello and Haskins to inspect their work. Luckily, they passed with flying colors and were told the craftsmanship and kind heartedness of the IKORCC volunteers should make carpenters proud from all over. All four sides of the sleigh will proudly display an IKORCC “carpenters making a difference” sign.

IKORCC Representative Kevin Ennis said, “Having the opportunity to give back to the community and knowing how excited the kids will be to see Santa on his sleigh will make this year’s parade even more special to us.”

For more information, please contact Kevin Ennis kennis@ikorcc.com.

Local Carpenters Reroof House for Family in Need

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PARMA, Ohio – This past summer, members of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) from Locals 435 and 373 donated their time to help a local family with necessary home repairs.

When the McCarthy family reached out to the carpenters union, Locals 435 & 373 didn’t hesitate to volunteer. The McCarthys have four children, one of them was born with Cerebral Palsy. With mounting medical bills, the loss of Mr. McCarthy’s job, and round the clock care needed for their son, the family was unable to pay for a new roof for their home.

Materials were generously donated by local contractors, and the labor was provided by a collaborative effort between Cleveland Building Trades and Carpenters Locals 435 and 373.

Kevin Ennis, Dustin Basmagy, James Gamier, Jeremy Kuhar and Megan Walkowisk of Local 435 joined Kyle Smith, Eric Dunn, John Mills of Local 373 for the project. Jack Petsche from USA Roofing was the contractor on the project.

For more information, please contact Kevin Ennis kennis@.com

Local Carpenters Volunteer in Home Construction for Wounded Soldier

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ANDERSON, Ind. – Over the past year, Homes for Hoosier Heroes and various local trades, including carpenters, millwrights and floor coverers of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) have been working on building a handicap- accessible home for former Army infantryman Timothy Frank Senkowski.

Senkowski was severely injured by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, resulting in the loss of both of his legs.

Last month, Tim Thieme of Floor Coverers Local 364 was contacted by Chuck Gowan and Mike Brooks, pipe fitters who are involved in the project. Gowan and Brooks were in need of contractors wiling to lay flooring in Senkowski’s home. Thieme quickly agreed to help and reached out to Superior Carpet Installers of Indianapolis, who without hesitation jumped on board.

All of the underlayment was generously donated by Southland Flooring Supply. The vinyl plank and carpet was provided by Mohawk for a minuscule charge.

Local 364 floor coverers who volunteered for the project include Adam Williams (Floor Covering Instructor), Marty Brinson and Kelsey Biggs of Superior Carpet Installers, Wes Simpson and Chris Rainer of Blakley’s Flooring.

“As we were working on his home, Senkowski stopped by to visit. Every single installer walked over to him and shook his hand, thanking him for his service,” commented Thieme. “Knowing that we’re giving back to someone who has dedicated his entire life for our country and our freedom makes it all worthwhile.”

“Sacrifice…that’s what it’s all about. Whether it’s by donating a few hours to help a brother out or spending a weekend to positively impact the lives of our nation’s heroes,” commented Wes Simpson of Local 364. “The brotherhood of unions and veterans will always be there on the front lines to fight for what’s right. I was honored to help someone who sacrificed it all for our freedom.”

For more information, please contact Tim Thieme at tthieme@ikorcc.com

2015 Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council Of Carpenters Graduation – Indianapolis

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Director of Education for Indiana/Kentucky, Todd Pancake, describes how important this night is to all of the graduates. Executive Secretary/Treasurer, Mark McGriff, sends the graduates off with piece of advice. Congratulations to all of the graduates!

INSTALL Contractor Featured in Case Study

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TOLEDO, Ohio – Earlier this year, American Flooring & Interiors (AF&I) was featured in a case study showcasing their rising position in the industry. The case study touted AF&I’s 2014 number one ranking from Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) as the fastest growing company in the construction industry and the number 11 fastest growing company overall. The companies chosen annually represent innovative, diverse companies that produce jobs in their local communities and generate over half of their revenues from regional, national and international sales.

As part of their impressive credentials, AF&I has received a special certification with the International Standards & Training Alliance (INSTALL) flooring program. INSTALL has certified AF&I as an INSTALL Warranty Contractor. Contractors like AF&I must reach elevated standards in exemplary installation performance history, demonstrate and maintain good business standards and bonding credentials, and all of their journeyperson installers are required to be INSTALL certified. The INSTALL Warranty is the only free, extended, additional, third-party installation warranty in the floor covering industry.

AF&I owner Gary Johnson attributes the company’s success to investing in skilled, professional people and providing them with comprehensive INSTALL training and certification. Local floor coverers working for the AF&I are members of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC), a regional council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC).

AF&I is joined by seven other IKORCC INSTALL Contractors and 23 US and Canadian INSTALL Contractors that have achieved this distinction from over 400 INSTALL Contractors across the US and Canada.

INSTALL is a North American alliance of flooring mills, manufacturers, consultants and contractors who work together to ensure superior flooring installations.

For more information, please contact Ray Laraby at rlaraby@ikorcc.com.