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Richard Christianson

Exit Interview Video with Patrick Molzahn of Madison College

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Patrick Molzahn Madison College

Patrick Molzahn’s days at Madison College’s Cabinetmaking & Millwork program are numbered.

Molzahn’s 25-plus years teaching career at the college will officially come to an end Dec. 31 when he retires. He has already turned over the program director’s reins of one of the nation’s most prestigious postsecondary woodworking programs to Lizzy Conley, one of the more than 400 students he taught.

In addition to his storied career at Madison College, Molzahn was a founding member of the Woodwork Career Alliance Board of Directors. He was instrumental in helping shape the WCA’s mission to develop and grow a skilled woodworking workforce by creating a credentialing system that career pathways to professional woodworkers. In addition, Molzahn helped craft the WCA Skill Standards and created numerous videos in the Training Resources that are available to EDUcation and MANufacturing members.

Molzahn was the first person ever to earn the WCA’s Diamond Credential. (Lizzy Conley, under Molzhan’s tutelage was the second.) He also authored the 5th and 6th editions of Modern Cabinetry, a textbook that thoroughly covers the how-to of woodworking.

In the accompanying video, Molzahn reflects on his time with the college and the Cabinetmaking program with Bryan Woodhouse, Dean of Technology & Trades. He also discusses his retirement plans, including lots of traveling, beginning with an adventure to Antarctica.

 

Richard Christianson

President’s Message: WIC Silent Auction Strikes a Chord for WCA

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The iconic Hotel Coronado was the scene of some spirited bidding during the 2023 Woodworking Industry Conference (WIC).

A ukulele hand crafted by Jim Laster of Newman Machine Company fetched $3,010 to benefit WCA during the silent auction organized by the Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America and the Woodworking Machinery Industry Association. Jim has not only demonstrated tremendous support for WCA at this year’s and past WICs, his company is one of our Gold Sponsors.

The same can be said for Joe Hammock, winning bidder of the prized ukulele. Friulmac also is a long-time Gold Sponsor of the WCA.

Woodworking Industry Conference 2023 Silent Auction to benefit Woodwork Career Alliance

Joe Hammock, left, was the winning bidder for the ukelele made by Jim Laster, right. Hammock gifted the guitar to Eric Boose, center, and his family, long-time friends and owners of RT Machine. 

Additional funds were raised for the WCA via a Casino Night during the WIC.

Rest assured the sponsorship money that we received will be well spent. In addition to supporting high school and postsecondary woodworking programs, some of it is being used to help defray the cost of eight woodworking instructors to attend the upcoming AWFS Fair in Las Vegas. This is a great opportunity for them to see the latest technologies and supplies, network with industry representatives, and attend workshops and seminars.

The seven instructors include:

  • Mark Smith, Reed-Custer High School – Braidwood, IL
  • Jeff Krabbenhoft, Lewis Central High School – Council Bluffs, IA
  • Lizzy Conley, Madison College – Madison, WI
  • Carl Grunewald, Kettle Moraine High School – Wales, WI
  • Mike Davis, Serrano High School – Phelan, CA
  • Jon Heithold, East High School – Lincoln, NE
  • Brad Bagnall, Bowness High School – Calgary, AB, Canada
  • Keith Deese, West Henderson High School, Hendersonville, NC

Speaking about the AWFS Fair, representatives of the Woodwork Career Alliance Board of Directors, and several WCA EDUcation members will conduct numerous educational sessions over the first three days of the show.

I will once again team up with Bruce Spitz to present a three-hour workshop, “Building a Training Program for Your Workers,” 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 25. Greg Larson, vice president of the WCA, will present “Teaching and Evaluating the Wood Industry’s Skill Standards,” from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Thursday, July 27.

You can learn more about all of the WCA-related sessions here.

Finally, I’m elated to report that we are well on to establishing a new annual record for our Passport credentialling program. We have already added more than 950 new candidates since Jan. 1 compared to the 1,400+ that we recorded during all of 2022!

Be sure to stop by and see us at booth 1377 to learn more about the benefits of becoming a WCA EDUcation member, MANufacturing member or sponsor. If you are already a member, let us know what we might do to improve the products and services that we offer.

I look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas.

Scott Nelson
President
Woodwork Career Alliance of North America
snelsonwca@gmail.com

 

Scott Nelson

President’s Message – Last Year Was Great; This Year Is Shaping Up to Be Even Better for WCA

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I hope 2022 is going well for all as we continue to battle through the challenges of COVID and supply chain issues.

It pleases me to no end to report that the WCA is off to a tremendous start for the year. We have experienced a robust increase of students enrolled in EDUcation member woodworking programs. We have added 325 new candidates since the first of the year and have also issued 101 new credentials.

I’m also very pleased that we are continuing to see greater interest in our credential program and Woodworking Skill standards from wood products companies. Because of the increase in MANufacturing membership, WCA is putting more effort toward increasing our training resources that can assist companies with  training their employees. In addtion, we will be offering a half-day workshop at IWF 2022 focused on creating an in-house training program for production woodworkers. Stay tuned for more details.

You can read more about WCA’s recent achievements in our 2021 Progress Report.

In closing, I want to thank all of our INDustry and EDUcation Sponsors for their continued support throughout these difficult times. Their generous contributions have allowed WCA to continue to grow and focus on our mission of developing and maintaining a trained workforce in the woodworking industry.

Bridging the skills gap is an enormous challenge. We can use all of the help that we can get. Learn more about the benefits of becoming a WCA Gold or Silver Sponsor.

Continue to stay safe.

Scott Nelson
President
Woodwork Career Alliance of North America
snelsonwca@gmail.com

Scott Nelson

Presidents Message – Congratulations All Around!

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This is a busy period for WCA EDUcation renewals, and I’m pleased to report they are coming in at a solid rate. Once again, I would like to thank our outstanding Education Supporters for their generous contributions to the participating schools through our EDUcation Essentials Benefit Package. This year’s donors include Bessey Clamps, CabWriter, Franklin Adhesives, Microvellum, Quickscrews, Rockler, and Veneer Tech.

WCA is ever so proud of tech-ed instructor Staci Sievert of Seymour High School! Staci is one of Harbor Freight Tools for Schools 2021 Teacher Prize for Excellence winners, which includes a $50,000 cash prize. Please read more about her amazing story.

Thanks to WCA Vice President Greg Larson and his committee for their work to add two new student-only credentials: EDU Core and EDU Green. These new credentials create stepping stones between the WCA Sawblade Certificate and the Green Credential, the first level for woodworking professionals. Please read more.

I also want to thank Woodworking Network for partnering with WCA on a benchmark Workforce Development study. None of us were surprised to learn that the North American woodworking industry continues to be immensely challenged to find, train and retain qualified production workers. We appreciate the feedback we received about what more WCA might do to help tackle this huge challenge. We invite all stakeholders to get involved. The more, the merrier.

Finally, I want to recognize Patrick Molzahn for his continued work with publisher Goodheart-Wilcox. The Sixth Edition of the Modern Cabinetmaking textbook will be coming out soon. The content of the text and companion lab workbook correlates to the WCA’s industry credentialing standards. I am excited to get my copy of the new edition.

I hope you all have a great holiday season and stay safe.

Scott Nelson
President
Woodwork Career Alliance of North America
snelsonwca@gmail.com