Millwright Apprenticeship Competition Illustrates Why Manpower from the Southern States Millwright Regional Council is the Industry’s Best

There were spectators, food and drink, invited guests and even an awards ceremony, but for the event’s participants, the atmosphere was anything but festive. Six young men, representing Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia, were focused intently on their projects and worked diligently in the United Brotherhood of Carpenters’ Southern District Apprenticeship Contest.

The annual event, held this year at the Austin Training Center in Austin, Texas on November 14 and 15, did not disappoint those who came to see elite millwright skills in action. Precision measurements, pinpoint calibration, and flawless welding was demonstrated by every participant.

“We are taking aggressive action to show that we have thousands of highly skilled millwrights to fill the skilled labor shortage in the southern construction industry. This event is a visual example of the caliber of talent available for millwright positions the require absolute professionals,” said Dennis Donahou, executive secretary-treasurer of the Southern States Millwright Regional Council (SSMRC).

Participants in the millwright competition are all SSMRC members. Winning this year’s competition was Bill Jolley, of Local 1000 in Tampa, Florida. The order of all participants was:

First - Bill Jolley, Local 1000, Tampa, Florida

Second - Kevin Shields, Local 1421, Arlington, Texas

Third - Rayne Granger, Local 729, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Fourth -  Robby Eakin, Jr., Local 216, Russellville, Arkansas

Fifth - Casey Hill, Local 1192, Birmingham, Alabama

Sixth - George Wolfe, Local 1263, Savannah, Georgia

Contestants spent the first of the two-day competition completing a written test. The second day was all hands-on work at individual stations, where competitors were tasked with a project that required expert combinations of various millwright skills. Judging the millwright competition were veteran industry millwrights and instructors: R.L. Gates, Tommy Meeks, and Danny Budnik.

To watch a video of the contestants at work, click here.