MaineBusiness.com

AUGUSTA, Maine—On Friday, November 20th from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM Associated Builders and Contractors of Maine (ABC) and the Downeast Construction Education Foundation (DCEF) will host the 10th Annual Craft Championships at the Augusta Civic Center. More than 1,200 high school students and instructors are registered to attend.

The Craft Championships present high school students with an informative look at all the exciting opportunities Maine’s construction industry can offer. Students interact with real construction industry professionals at 32 hands-on activities and competitions including welding, wiring, rigging, plumbing, pipefitting, tiling, setting concrete forms, building brick walls, and many others.

Students will also hear from nationally-renowned inspirational speaker, Craig MacFarlane, founder of 20/20 Inner Vision and sticktoschool.com. The mission of 20/20 Inner Vision is to increase high school graduation rates and create positive employment futures by instilling a sense of pride and dignity in the youth of America. His organization works is to educate young people on the value of a formal high school or college education and the resulting degree, as well as to motivate young people to have a high degree of self worth.

Students from the following schools and programs will be attending:

Bath Regional Vocational Center
Biddeford Reg. Center of Technology
Capital Area Technical Center
Gardiner Area High School
Gray-New Gloucester High School
Husson University/The Boat School
Jay High School
Kennebec Valley Community College
Kenneth Foster Reg. Applied Tech. Ctr.
Jay High School
Lake Region Vocational Center
Learning Works
Lewiston Regional Technical Center
Livermore Falls High School
Maine Central Institute
Maine School of Masonry
MAT - Region 08 (Mid-Coast School of Technology)
MAT - Region 3 (Northern Penobscot County)
MAT - Region 7 (Waldo Regional Vocational Center)
Mid-Maine Technical Center
Monmouth Academy
Northern Maine Community College
Portland Arts and Technology High School
Sanford Regional Vocational Center
Skowhegan Regional Vocational Center
Southern Aroostook Community School
St. John Valley Technology Center
Stetson Ranch
Southern Maine Community College
Sumner Memorial High School
Tri-County Technical Center
United Technologies Center
Westbrook Regional Vocational Center
Youthbuild Lewiston

Please note: For scheduling purposes, peak student participation is normally from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM.
Mr. MacFarlane will address students in the main auditorium from 10:30 to 11:00 AM.
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Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national association representing over 25,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms and their 2 million employees in 79 chapters across the United States. ABC's membership represents all specialties within the U.S. construction industry and is comprised primarily of firms that perform work in the industrial and commercial sectors of the industry. The Maine Chapter, a member of ABC National, has a strong and active membership, representing 175 member firms throughout the state.

The Downeast Construction Education Foundation is a charitable trust established by ABC to help career and technical education institutions educate Maine’s next generation of construction craft professionals by promoting creative opportunities for educators to meet the needs of the construction industry and assist people within the industry to enhance their skills.