Moraine Park Carpentry Apprentices Helping Community

Moraine Park’s Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Carpentry Apprentice classes have been busy this year! Recently they completed a project for the West Bend VFW, by constructing a new brat stand.

“The Brat Stand project came about when Norbert Carter, a Korean War veteran and Flag Day Committee member of the West Bend Veterans of Foreign Wars, made contact with me about the possibility of the Carpentry classes assisting in the construction of a new stand to replace their existing building,” Gary Roehrig, MPTC carpentry instructor said. “From that initial contact, it was determined the building would be a project the classes could construct. A plan was developed, and construction began in December.”

The electrical work was installed and completed by one of the electrical apprentice classes at the West Bend campus. Drexel Building Supply of Campbellsport and Atlas Roofing donated materials for the building.

Construction was completed the week of March 25. The VFW club members painted the structure in Moraine Park’s carpentry lab, and the building was moved the week of April 1 to its permanent location at the intersection of Highway 33 and 15th Avenue in West Bend.

“Class projects similar to this have been a part of the curriculum for the carpentry apprentice classes throughout the years,” Gary said. “They provide an opportunity to use skills being taught in class and putting them into immediate practice in the class laboratory activities. It also allows the classes to engage in community service activities that should be an essential component of any life-long career.”

Other carpentry apprentice class projects include:

• The construction of new closet storage cabinets in the Carpentry lab at the West Bend campus.
• Third and fourth-year carpentry apprentices constructed cabinets for the new Gas Technicians class at the Beaver Dam campus. These cabinets were installed in two of the eight buildings that were constructed last year. (Construction of those eight buildings was the in-class project for the 2017-2018 school year.)

For more information, visit morainepark.edu.