Job Corps Carpentry Graduate Wins Shirley Wiseman Lach Award
Candace Ellisor, a graduate from the Home Builders Institute's (HBI) carpentry program at the Sacramento Job Corps Center, and Petty Officer 3rd Class in the U.S. Navy currently stationed in San Diego, was recognized as the winner of the Shirley Wiseman Lach Award for Exception Promise during the International Builders’ Show earlier this month in Orlando, Fla.
The annual award, named after the former NAHB president, recognizes the success of a young graduate from HBI’s Job Corps program who has displayed remarkable promise and commitment to the housing industry.
Ellisor distinguished herself while in Job Corps, serving in student government and counseling fellow students. She founded a video library and worked in a maintenance job on the center after classes. She devoted 10 years to the carpentry trade, securing a journey level certification, and has returned to the campus many times as a motivational speaker for other young women facing the challenges posed by the construction trades.
In 2002, she joined the Navy and has completed three tours of duty in Iraq. Ellisor was unable to travel to receive her award on Jan. 14; she gave birth that day to baby daughter Alexandra.