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Industry Leaders to Recognize Job Corps Graduates
2007 NAHB President Brian Catalde and former NAHB President Shirley McVay Wiseman will present two annual awards to Home Builders Institute (HBI) Job Corps graduates at the popular Lowe’s exhibit during the upcoming International Builders’ Show in Orlando on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 1:00 p.m.
Eric Marion, 25, an electrical helper working for Thaw’s Electrical Service, St. Simmons Island, Ga. is the winner of the NAHB President’s Award, in recognition of his ability to overcome adversity to achieve success in the home building industry.
Marion graduated from HBI’s electrical program at the Brunswick Job Corps Center (JCC) in 2006 and immediately began working at Thaw’s, a member of the Golden Isles Home Builders Association. In the one year Marion spent at Brunswick JCC, he worked as the shop foreman on several Vocational Student Training (VST) projects, received his driver’s license, earned his GED and completed the advanced level in the electrical trade.
He is the recipient of the HBI/Lowe’s Building Careers Scholarship, which helped him relocate to his job at Thaw’s from Macon, Ga., and has continued to pursue educational opportunities by pursuing certification in residential wiring technology at Coastal Georgia Community College.
“I’m proud to see Eric continue his education while pursuing a career in home building,” said HBI electrical instructor Robert Collins. “He was a great student and is a great success story for the U.S. Department of Labor, HBI, NAHB and all the organizations involved in Job Corps.”
Women Graduates Continue to Achieve Success
Ebony Shaw, 27, the winner of the Shirley McVay Wiseman Award for Exceptional Promise, came to the Golconda Job Corps Center in 1999 to receive electrical training that she could use as an electrician's mate in the U.S. Navy.
At Golconda JCC, Shaw excelled in John Gaddis’ electrical class and in mathematics and was active in extracurricular activities. She served as shop foreman, was a member of student government and mentored younger students at the center. Shaw was also on the women’s basketball team, where she unfortunately suffered a serious knee injury, forcing her to take medical leave for five-and-a-half months. She returned to the program as determined as ever and graduated in March 2001.
Shaw followed her dreams of joining the Navy, where she recently completed a six-year enlistment and left active duty as an electrician third class. While in the Navy, Shaw traveled to Dubai, Bahrain, Singapore and Portugal, among several other countries, and while her ship was stationed in San Diego she took computer science classes at the ACTI Technical School. Currently, Shaw is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer networking from the University of Phoenix.
“Job Corps helped lay the foundation for my entire career. The knowledge that I absorbed from my instructor, John Gaddis, was not only beneficial to me as a civilian, but has also been beneficial to my military training,” said Shaw.
“Ebony always had a smile on her face and liked to have fun, but she was a serious student as well,” said Gaddis. “She knew how to assert herself and I could tell she would be successful at whatever she attempted.”
For more information on the awards or HBI’s Job Corps programs, e-mail Maria McIntyre at HBI, or call her at 800-795-7955 x8912.
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