Savannah Engelman, named after her grandpa’s favorite fishing spot, is an ambitious, young apprentice rising quickly. Savannah, a Spencer, Ohio native, is a carpentry apprentice at the Richfield Training Center and is only 18 years old. Her parents, in conjunction with the high school and Lorain County JVS, worked with the Richfield Training Center to get her enrolled in the apprenticeship program.  

Savannah toured Lorain County JVS as a freshman and felt blown away by all the career choices she had. The tour showed she had many possible career paths. Savannah is an honors student and most people in her life believed she would attend a traditional college after high school.

Some teachers even tried to discourage her from leaving that path to find her own. Thanks to her strong will and supportive parents, Savannah tried four trades for a preliminary period and fell in love with carpentry. Savannah’s mom marched to the school and advocated on her behalf to sign for enrollment in the carpentry program at Lorain County JVS. 

Savannah is very organized. Before graduation, her typical week had her fluctuating between high school, JVS, apprenticeship, work, and clubs. She’s also perfecting her cabinet making skills and participated at the state level in the Skills USA competition. Her high school and JVS work together to help Savannah make up hours when she is in the apprenticeship.

“Savannah has completed three classes so far at Richfield and not only has perfect attendance and a 4.0 GPA, but has a great attitude that proves to be contagious in each class she takes.  We are looking at an apprentice that is going places,” says Dan Sustin, training coordinator at the Richfield Carpenters Training Center.

Savannah also works two days a week as an intern for RGI where, among other things, she cut all the pieces of the toolbox kits for IKORCC’s event at the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland. She likes the flexibility of RGI but would eventually like to work outside. With RGI for Safety Week, Savannah helped build a replica of a fire station.

When she graduated high school this May, she was well on her way to finishing her first year of apprenticeship. So far, Savannah has completed Hand and Power Tools, Metal Studs & Drywall, and is about to start Concrete Footers & Wall Forms. She says she loves the Richfield Center.

“He’s encouraging and answers every question with no judgment. He was instrumental in getting me organized with all of my school this year,” Savannah says of Dan Sustin.

A wild Friday night for Savannah includes baking chocolate chip cookies (what she was doing as we talked) and meeting up with her boyfriend to muck horse stalls together. If that doesn’t say romance, I don’t know what does. When she does have free time, Savannah likes to go camping with her family at Wills Creek near Coshocton, Ohio.

Savannah’s ambition will serve not just her, but all of us. She is just one example of the extremely talented apprentices at the Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters.

Myles Gotcher is an incredible apprentice and has a unique vision on life. Due to a hereditary condition, blue cone monochromatism, sight isn’t one of his stronger suits, a fact that hasn’t stopped him from standing out in his millwright apprenticeship in Monroe, Ohio.

Myles grew up in the Dayton area and attended Stebbins High School where he competed on the track team and enrolled in manufacturing at a neighboring career tech school. There he received an award for being the most perseverant student.

Shortly after high school Myles enrolled in welding school and earned top marks. Brian Carson, a Gotcher family acquaintance, and carpenter in the Columbus area, then introduced Myles to the IKORCC. Carson explained the apprenticeship program and that the workforce is in great need of millwrights. 

In his first full year as an apprentice, Myles quickly became a favorite among his peers & teachers. His ability to form deep relationships with people has allowed him to create a support network willing to go to great lengths lending to his success. Despite not being able to drive, Myles is able to accept jobs that aren’t close to home and even sometimes out of state. His family and friends take turns driving Myles to and from job sites.

Ishmael Vaudrin, a fellow millwright, has become Myles’ driving buddy when they go out of state. At the time of this interview, Myles was in the car with his grandmother. She drove two hours to Lima, Ohio to get Myles. That’s what the Union is all about. We do for our own what we do for our family.

While Myles’ sight affects his ability to drive, it does not affect his effectiveness as a millwright. Brian Slone, Monroe Instructor, says he’s been impressed with Myles since day one. Slone says one day his class was learning how to read blueprints with very fine detail. Certain apprentices complained that the writing was too small and they couldn’t do it. Myles, however, had a magnifying glass analyzing the prints down to the teeny tiny letter. Slone didn’t hold back, “How are you complaining when this kid has a damn magnifying glass out!?” 

Myles has consistently worked for the last year, and grown professionally. On his first scaffolding job, Myles had to go to the top of a 14 deck tower. It was too much for him and he had to retreat. But now, none of that bothers him, “I’ve stopped worrying about the ground.”

Working as a millwright takes incredible precision and Myles is a man of practice. At home, he learned how to paint figurines which allows him to continue to perfect his detail skills. A bad day for Myles is when he knows he hasn’t put in full effort and learned something.

“You gotta be a sponge, and become friends with your journeymen,” Myles said.

For Myles becoming a millwright is his dream and he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He has a bucket of welding tests that he’s passed. It’s his reminder that he can do this and has those markers to prove it. At just 21 years old, Myles was kind enough to share wise insights he has learned from his apprenticeship:

1: Put yourself to a higher standard. Everything we [millwrights] do requires a higher precision as we should be in life.

2: Nothing comes easy but if you’re willing to learn, you can gain the knowledge by asking questions.

3: Don’t be afraid to get hands-on. It’s how we learn the skill.

We can all take a few pages from Myles’ book. He has, can and continues to persevere. Whatever challenges we come against life can be overcome. If you can do that and do it with a smile, you have a bright future.

 

The Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters is proud to welcome our newest members from the Carpenters Industrial Council. Below you will see a welcome letter from IKORCC EST Todd Pancake. 

Dear Member:

I’d like to take the opportunity to personally welcome you to the Indiana / Kentucky / Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters.  As we continue to grow, we strive to remain as adaptable, motivated and responsive to our new members as we are to our customers. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you how each and every one of you plays an important part in our Council.  We pride ourselves by keeping informed on events affecting the union; and staying in tune with public policy changes on federal, state and local levels affecting our member’s industry and livelihood.  One of the most important facets of a union member’s responsibility is having a positive attitude – a positive attitude brings optimism and motivates toward success. Another important role you’ll play is your participation in activities organized by the Union.  Whether the Union calls for the distribution of information, collecting signatures, voting, picketing or striking, it is important for our members to participate whenever possible.

Our Brotherhood is confronting a time of many changes and we’re meeting these changes during a time of larger nation-wide and global change. We’ll continue working to ensure our organization remains on the cutting edge.

We’re continuously transforming the way we operate to improve our ability to be competitive in an ever-changing climate. Our members and partners have continued to meet challenges that arise and we will work together to overcome them. We are very proud of where we are today and excited about where we are headed.

This link will provide contact information for all of your Regional Council Offices. Should you have questions, please contact the office closest to your home local.

Before I finish, I’d just like you to know that you, as part of our team, are our most important and greatest asset. We could not accomplish what we do every day without our members. I’m very pleased to welcome you to the Indiana / Kentucky / Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters and look forward to working with you!

M. Todd Pancake

Executive Secretary-Treasurer

Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters

Lawmakers, contractors, and construction workers in Indianapolis are preparing for Days of Action events to bring attention to the growing problem of tax fraud in the construction industry.

Over 100 Indiana lawmakers, contractors & construction workers will gather at the Indiana Statehouse on Monday, April 15^th, 2019 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the north atrium to shine a spotlight on the corrupt practices of illegitimate contractors who steal billions of dollars from our communities – money that should be spent on education, public safety and infrastructure. Tax fraud is just one aspect of the illegal business practices plaguing the industry, along with wage theft, independent contractor misclassification, and workers’ compensation insurance fraud. 

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett will share his thoughts on tax fraud in Indianapolis and how it hurts the city. Mayor Hogsett addresses the crowd at 12:15 p.m. “It’s tax fraud, because it’s the taxes that you and I pay that are being manipulated,” said Joe Hogsett, Mayor of Indianapolis. “From neighborhood-based programs to major initiatives, to the public/private partnerships that drive our city forward – all of these things are only possible when everyone pays their fair share.”

The Construction Industry Partnership will be joined by the Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters, state & local lawmakers and some of the state’s most prominent business owners in the fight to crack down on these destructive and illegal business practices.

The fraud comes when workers are paid off the books by shady subcontractors and labor brokers, who are hired by contractors to underbid law-abiding businesses. Fraud happens on all types of projects, including taxpayer-funded projects—which means we all lose.  Rampant cheating in the construction industry makes it difficult to repair roads

Construction industry tax fraud and related crimes and violations are happening every day on large-scale projects, costing Hoosier communities an estimated $405 million dollars statewide in lost federal and state taxes.

Recovering unpaid tax dollars in Indiana could pay for:

• 8,741 state troopers
• 7,937 teachers
• 325 miles of resurfaced highways
• 783 small business loans

  The April 15^th rally in Indianapolis is part of the nationwide Construction Industry Tax Fraud Days of Action by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America to raise awareness and generate action against tax fraud and related crimes.   

 

About the Construction Industry Partnership:

Representing the carpenters union and over 700 contractors throughout the state of Indiana, the Construction Industry Partnership is dedicated to create a lasting and positive impact on the construction industry. By acting as one unit, the CIP can advocate for change at a political level, demand high standards are enforced and recruit top talent throughout the state.