Students receive awards for SkillsUSA national roofing competition

The third annual roofing competition was held during the week of June 23 at SkillsUSA’s National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta.

On June 27, Damien Holloway of Florida received first place in the High School category. Brigham Richardson of Arizona received second place, and Nathan Luz-Santos of Tennessee received third place.

Samuel Oelfke of Minnesota received first place in the College/Postsecondary category. Chenxi Huang of Florida received second place, and Kelly Cosgrove of New York received third place.

First-place winners received $1,500; second-place winners received $1,000; and third-place winners received $750. First-place winners also received a champions belt, a new Leister Triac ST handheld hot air welder and a crystal award plaque.

Students from throughout the U.S. competed in state competitions to earn the right to compete for the national title. There were 21 competitors from 17 states in this year’s roofing competition.

In 2022, one of NRCA’s initiatives was to help SkillsUSA, an organization whose mission is to prepare and empower students for careers in the trades, to incorporate roofing into its national construction skills competition. As a result, the 2023 SkillsUSA competition included roofing for the first time.

NRCA thanks sponsors and NRCA members for their valuable support and involvement, which helped to make this year’s competition a tremendous success.

NRCA, contractors, trade schools and numerous industry partners are working together to get roofing training and exposure to more young people. You can play a vital part in recruiting hardworking, skilled young workers to your company by partnering with a trade school in your area. To learn more, contact NRCA Director of Workforce Development Shane Muncy at (800) 323-9545, ext. 7551 or smuncy@nrca.net.