Contact: Kristi Pronovost
Director of Marketing & Communications
717.653.8106 or kristi@abckeystone.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 22, 2018

(MANHEIM, PA.) The best of ABC Keystone’s fourth-year apprentices went toe-to-toe competing for an opportunity to move onto the 2019 ABC National Craft Competition to be held March 27, 2019, in Long Beach, California. Local fourth year apprentices represented five trades: carpentry, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and sheet metal. Top scorers will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the National Competition.

ABC Keystone has a history of producing National Craft Championship medal winners representing the South Central PA area, and the Chapter will again be well-represented by these five apprentices in March 2019. Last year, two Keystone apprentices achieved high honors at Nationals by earning a Safety Award in Electrical and Bronze Medal in Carpentry.

2018 ABC Keystone Local Craft Competition winners:

Competitor (Trade),  Company (Hometown)

  • Brandon Dippner (Electrical), CCS Building Group (Denver)
  • Anthony Hartz (Plumbing), Brubaker, Inc. (Leola)
  • Khalil Hunter (HVAC), H.B. McClure Company, Inc. (Dallastown)
  • Matthew Leibhart (Carpentry), Warfel Construction Company (Harrisburg)
  • Tim Thalwitzer (Sheet Metal), Walton & Company  (Baltimore, MD)

The competition has two components: the written test, which counts for 25% of their total score; and the practical “hands-on” competition, which counts for 75% of their total score. In addition to showcasing their top-quality work, the competitors must also adhere to strict safety standards. They are challenged throughout the day by having to maintain focus in a busy environment with spectators just as they will be at the National Competition.

        

(Pictured left to right: Brandon Dippner, Anthony Hartz, Khalil Hunter, Matthew Leibhart, Tim Thalwitzer)