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2023 Don Sherry Achievement Award Announced

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In the heart of every thriving community lies the essence of solidarity, and at the core of that spirit, often stands a dedicated union member. These unsung heroes are the backbone of progress, selflessly working towards uplifting the community they call home. Through unwavering commitment, tireless efforts, and a deep sense of responsibility, they embody the very essence of service to others.

Every year, we honor an exceptional union member, whose devotion to the community has left an indelible mark on the lives of countless individuals. Their story serves as a beacon of inspiration, illuminating the power of collective action and the positive impact that a single individual can have on a larger society.

Don Sherry passionately served the Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters for nearly 20 years as a business representative and Director of Organizing. He was the President of Carpenters Local 175 and a dedicated advocate for worker’s rights and unions. Colleagues said his dedication to this organization was second to none. To pay homage to his legacy, the IKORCC gives the Don Sherry Achievement Award annually.

The Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters is proud to announce this year’s Don Sherry Achievement Award goes to Mitchell Carrillo.

Mitchell is an 18-year union member out of Local 1005. Mitchell has dedicated time year after year to giving back to communities across the United States with his unique skills as a carpenter. From being a volunteer fireman for over a decade to rehabbing 30 homes in Indiana with Habitat for Humanity, Mitchell represents the true essence of a Union Carpenter.

“If you know Mitch at all you know that has never done any for his work for publicity or a pat on the back. He does this humanitarian work because he loves people”, the Local 1005 nomination letter read.

Brother Carrillo took frequent trips to Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to help rebuild those communities. When his IKORCC brothers and sisters (and countless others) needed help last December after devastating tornadoes, he got to work.

In recognizing the tireless efforts of union members like Brother Carrillo, we acknowledge the countless others like them who work selflessly behind the scenes, fueling the engine of progress in our communities. Their commitment serves as a testament to the strength of collective action, reminding us of the importance of supporting and empowering those who strive to uplift us all. We look forward to honoring our selfless members through the Don Sherry Achievement Award for years to come.

Please join us in congratulating our 2023 Don Sherry Award winner, Mitchell Carrillo!

 

To honor Don’s service and dedication, each year since his passing the IKORCC has given The Don Sherry Achievement Award. The award recognizes a rank-and-file member who has gone above and beyond in their service on the job site, with contractors, in MAC meetings (Member Action Committee), and in their community. In addition to giving an award in his honor, IKORCC delegates raise money each year during their annual conference and donate the proceeds to the Diabetes Foundation in Don Sherry’s honor.

 

Recipients of the Don Sherry Achievement Award include:

2018 – Glenn Downs, Local 599

2019 – Raymond Poer, Local 599

2020 – Cory Hudson, Local 285

2021 – Bobby Miller, Local 357

2022 – Travis Williams, Local 1005

2023 – Mitchell Carrillo, Local 1005

 

Congrats to our 2023 Scholarship Winners

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Congratulations to our 2023 Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Scholarship Program recipients! Forty students received a $1,000 scholarship toward tuition, room and board, or books to a trade school or college.

Twenty recipients earned scholarships based on their high school grade point average and SAT or ACT scores. Another twenty were selected randomly.

Recipients were sons, daughters, and dependent children of members of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights. Parents or guardians must be members in good standing of the IKORCC for at least one year. The son, daughter, or dependent child must be a high school graduating senior or be attending a college, university, or trade school as a full-time student.

 

Congratulations to the following 2023 IKORCC Scholarship recipients:

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2023 Scholarship Applications Now Open

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Applications are now open for the IKORCC scholarship program. Forty $1,000 scholarships will be awarded in 2023 to eligible member’s dependent children. Twenty of the scholarships are awarded based on scholastics, and twenty others via a random drawing.

The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council scholastic scholarships are awarded based on 60% high school grade point average and 40% on

 SAT or ACT scores. Twenty scholarships will be selected by random drawing.

The scholarship is to be used solely for the purpose of education in the form of tuition, room and board, and or books.

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Congrats to our 2022 Scholarship Winners

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Congratulations to our 2022 Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Scholarship Program recipients!  40 students received a $1,000 scholarship toward tuition, room, and board, or books to a trade school or college.

Twenty recipients earned scholarships based upon their high school grade point average and SAT or ACT scores. Another twenty were selected randomly.

Recipients were sons, daughters, and dependent children of members of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights. Parents or guardians must be members in good standing of the IKORCC for at least one year. The son, daughter, or dependent child must be a high school graduating senior or be attending a college, university or trade school as a full-time student.

Congratulations to the following 2022 IKORCC Scholarship recipients: Read more

Community Values in Youngstown

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Although the local JATC was unable to hold their annual open house, the Youngstown-Steubenville Hub still found a way to introduce high school students to the opportunities within the IKORCC apprenticeship program.

The Mahoning Valley Skilled Trades Expo hosted their second skilled trades event aimed at promoting union trades to seventh through twelfth-grade students.  Unfortunately, the event was canceled last year due to the pandemic but returned with new ways to promote careers in the trades.  The Hub partnered with local contractors like AP O’Horo, the Western Reserve Building Trades, and the area school’s Educational Service centers to host the two-day event.  The event launched with a public open house to recruit and educate members from the community outside of just schools. Students from three Ohio and two Western Pennsylvania counties were given a chance to experience hands-on activities at each of the craft’s stations. Splitting this year’s event into two days gave the over 4,500 students more time to visit with each craft.

 

The Youngstown-Steubenville Hub has also partnered with the United Way to build several wheelchair ramps and assist the team in bagging groceries for more than 350 families unable to reach a food pantry in person.  IKORCC members along with community members spent about three to four hours bagging groceries for United Way’s Satur-Day of Caring. The groceries were loaded into volunteers’ cars to be delivered to elderly members of the community.

 

 

Partnership Helps Build Membership & Community

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A new partnership in Louisville is breaking down barriers & growing membership. This innovative partnership with the Louisville Urban League’s Kentuckiana Builds Program reduces the time it takes to enter the apprenticeship from six months to only six weeks for participants. Students will gain direct entry to the apprenticeship once they complete a six-week construction training program that includes: First Aid/CPR, OSHA-10 and the core construction credential.

 

One week of the program is hosted in the IKORCC Training Center where students learn hand and power tools, soft skills and safety. “The partnership between the IKORCC and the Urban league is important for everyone to know that there are endless opportunities to build your future and your family’s future,” said Kentuckiana Builds Instructor and Local 175-member Michael Greathouse. Two cohorts of classes have completed this program with more classes scheduled in 2022.

 

There couldn’t be a better time to grow the membership in the Louisville-area. Louisville Senior Business Representative Waylon Isaacs says the work forecast for 2022 is strong. He’s estimating a large growth in manhours with work on projects like Baptist Hospital, Blue Grass Army Depot, Joint Forces HQ, Nucor, Ford Battery Plant and the VA Hospital in Louisville.

 

In addition to growing membership, the Louisville hub continues to build their community. They are currently working with the Jefferson County Public Schools and Louisville Metro Council on building community lending boxes to place in neighborhoods across the city. The boxes will be filled with food, toiletries, books and more.

 

Recruitment and Retention: Cleveland Nails It

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The “Great Resignation” is hitting the country hard especially with the baby boomer generation retiring in waves.  Now more than ever it is crucial to bring in and retain new members.  The Cleveland Hub has organized over 60 new Hispanic members throughout the year with the help of bilingual representatives. The Hub has also signed two new minority contractors along with several other new signatory contractors. More contractors mean more future work and more advancement opportunities for members.

 

Renewed attention on apprentice retention from locals out of their office has proved successful with retention rates in the 90th percentile. A focus on mentoring, maintaining a strong relationship between the Hub and the JATC, and attentive job placement assistance keep these apprentices busy working and coming back year after year.

 

Fourth-year apprentice Savannah Engelman is one of these returning stars. “Joining the Carpenters’ Union and Apprenticeship Program has been a rewarding and fulfilling experience, as there are so many skills to be learned and mastered.  With numerous opportunities around every corner and at every level of our profession, there are always new goals to work towards and new skills to learn!”, she said about her journey so far.

 

The biggest project out of the Cleveland hub this year has been the mass timber frame mixed-use project across from the historic West-side market in downtown Cleveland.

Relationships Built to Last in Eastern Kentucky

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Just like a structure, relationships are built one step at a time. In Ashland Kentucky, relationship building is a fundamental aspect of their day-to-day operations. Thanks to that dedication, they have secured more local work for IKORCC members.

 

Ongoing meetings over three years led to a signed Infectious Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) agreement with King’s Daughters Medical Center. This ICRA agreement made the contractors with ICRA trained UBC members the obvious choice for their $100 million expansion in Ashland.

 

Senior Representative Jerry Yates says using real-world hospital equipment at the local training center pushed the partnership over the edge for success. Based on the current projection of work, it is expected at least 60 members will stay busy on this project.

 

Relationships are tested through tough times, but they usually emerge stronger in the end.  Eastern Kentucky saw several weeks of historic flash flooding in the Spring. When two nearby partner trade schools experienced this detrimental flooding in March, the Ashland Hub knew they wanted to help. They coordinated donations from the council to help repair a flooded carpenter shop and assist students whose homes had experienced flooding. Local 472 also donated a commercial gas stove to a community senior center cooking food for the elderly and families in need.

 

 

Rubber City with their Eye on the Ball

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Keeping the Akron-Canton members on top of the area’s biggest projects includes one of their most notable attractions, the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  The Hall of Fame Resort recommitted to using local, union workers in the next phase of their Hall of Fame Village Project in April 2021. President and CEO of the Hall of Fame Resort and the East Central Ohio Building Trades President jointly signed a PLA to confirm the commitment.

 

The $900 million Phase II includes the development of the Hall of Fame Village.  They plan to build a new hotel, an indoor waterpark, medical facilities, business and research buildings, retail stores, and more. Carpenters recently completed the renovation of the football stadium and are currently working on the Center for Excellence, practice fields for high school students, and the beginning stages of the onsite hotel.

 

From football to basketball, Akron has its share of high-profile places and people.  The kid from Akron made a name for himself across the country but continues to make the biggest impact in his hometown. The Lebron James Family Foundation is expanding their I Promise campus to create more opportunities for the success of their students.

 

The Akron/Canton Hub is proud to have worked on the first section of this project in building key aspects of the I Promise Campus. Representatives worked tirelessly to secure the work for our carpenters in this next phase despite many challenges. By supporting one of our signatory minority contractors, the Hub has guaranteed this high-profile work will be completed using local union carpenters.

 

Building Market Share & Community in Newburgh

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In the Newburgh area, 2021 was all about growing market share and building community – something members in this area excel at. Members worked on big projects, including the Evansville Aquatic Center, St. Vincent Hospital, Deaconess Hospital, a pool at University of Southern Indiana and on a bridge over Green River.

Next year’s work forecast looks solid. Members are working on an ongoing simple cycle project at Tennessee Valley Authority, where AZCO is installing three simple cycle gas turbines. This project kicked off in October. At its peak it will have around 60 carpenters and 15 Millwrights on the project.

Members are looking forward to the Toyota/Lexus line expansion, which is set to begin in early 2022. This $840 million-dollar project will create plenty of man hours. In March, Pratt Industries Paper Mill is coming to Henderson, KY. This $340 million-dollar project will also increase man hours.

In addition to growing market share, members in Paducah are also building the community. Local 357 members are finishing work on a McCracken County Habitat for Humanity home. This is the fourth home they’ve helped build for the organization that helps families and individuals in need of decent, affordable housing achieve their dream of homeownership. Carpenters did the framing, set trusses, roof decking and will set the windows and complete the vinyl siding.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, carpenters mobilized and held a canned food drive. The food drive was so successful, they’ve decided to do it again in 2021 and are currently taking canned food and Christmas toy donations for families in need.