The sixth annual Master Craftsmen awards ceremony and forum focused on the need for young people in the trades and the success stories of the eight men awarded with the honor for 2017.
In a room full of students from local high schools, as well as family, friends and community members, Rick Gailey, Sitework/Landscaping; Landry Crumley Mason/Stone/Concrete; Ron and Reggie Bell, Residential Builders; Stanley Cochran, Electrician; Brandon Dornak, Machinist/Toolmaker; T. Russell Mattingly, Finish Tradesman; Lanny Dunagan, Welder/Fabricator; Lee Arnold, Carpenter were all named Master Craftsmen by Lanier Technical College.
Each Master Craftsman was involved in a brief panel with Senator Butch Miller, where they talked about their successful careers, how they got to where they are, and advice for the students in the crowd who may be considering a technical field.
Brandon Dornack is a machinist. He makes molds for plastic bottles for things like beverages and cleaning supplies at Summit Package Development in Braselton. "My kind of work is usually behind the scenes, out of the limelight... so it was weird to do this kind of thing, to be perfectly honest. It's different!"
Dornack said without hesitation that students even just considering technical college should go for it. "Even if your path leads you to college, your background in technical education is never going to be bad for you," said Dornack. "Worst case, you don't use it but odds are very good it will only enhance what you ever do. Best case, you get a real skill, a real job, work through college and go ahead and get your experience and skills moving and you're better served for it in the end."
The gap in technical college workers from the younger generation was mentioned several times during the panels. In one, Reggie Bell said many members of his crew at Bell Construction had workers that had been doing the job for 40 years. "There are no 22 or 23, just out of college at that point. They're missing. We don't know what's going to happen if they don't come back."
