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Inspiring a Younger Generation
November 16, 2017
Inspiring an interest to create with wood in younger generations — for pleasure and as a professional endeavor — is top-of-mind at Sears Trostel. One way to encourage this interest is through school tours of our Airpark Dr. and Riverside Ave. locations.Â
A regular visitor recently brought his students for an annual tour to learn about our processes and to choose wood for their semester projects. Teacher Chris Cooper, and his Woods 5 class from Burns High School in Burns, WY, came for an education in how a professional millwork facility operates and to better understand the woodworking industry as a whole.Â
The first stop was the Airpark Millwork Facility, where Operations Manager Carl Herrmann showed the students how inventory is managed and equipment is used to safely stack materials and maximize space, and toured the production floor to see our precision saws and moulders in use.Â
The next stop was the Riverside Showroom and Lumberyard, where General Manager Curt Viehmeyer explained the workings of the Custom Shop and the variety of projects that are done for customers.Â
From there, a tour of the lumberyard and Live-Edge Wood Slab Showroom concluded with a SawStop table saw demonstration. While the students use a SawStop in their school’s woodshop, many of them had not witnessed the saw’s safety feature in action. Store Manager Chet Nance used a hot dog to demonstrate that when the blade comes into contact with flesh, the saw’s braking mechanism immediately stops and retracts the blade into the machine to prevent injury. An amazing thing to witness!
Our tours are a way of expanding opportunity options for young adults entering the workforce, and encouraging a change in perception, where skilled trades are a sustainable and fulfilling career option.Â
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Curt Viehmeyer (left) stands with Chris Cooper and student Corel Billingsley, along with a cutting board Corel made in his Woods 5 class. He is donating the board to the Sears Trostel 12th Annual Bread ’N’ Boards event on Saturday, December 2, for the Signature Board Silent Auction. Come place your bid!
A regular visitor recently brought his students for an annual tour to learn about our processes and to choose wood for their semester projects. Teacher Chris Cooper, and his Woods 5 class from Burns High School in Burns, WY, came for an education in how a professional millwork facility operates and to better understand the woodworking industry as a whole.Â
The first stop was the Airpark Millwork Facility, where Operations Manager Carl Herrmann showed the students how inventory is managed and equipment is used to safely stack materials and maximize space, and toured the production floor to see our precision saws and moulders in use. The next stop was the Riverside Showroom and Lumberyard, where General Manager Curt Viehmeyer explained the workings of the Custom Shop and the variety of projects that are done for customers.Â
From there, a tour of the lumberyard and Live-Edge Wood Slab Showroom concluded with a SawStop table saw demonstration. While the students use a SawStop in their school’s woodshop, many of them had not witnessed the saw’s safety feature in action. Store Manager Chet Nance used a hot dog to demonstrate that when the blade comes into contact with flesh, the saw’s braking mechanism immediately stops and retracts the blade into the machine to prevent injury. An amazing thing to witness!Our tours are a way of expanding opportunity options for young adults entering the workforce, and encouraging a change in perception, where skilled trades are a sustainable and fulfilling career option.Â
Â
Curt Viehmeyer (left) stands with Chris Cooper and student Corel Billingsley, along with a cutting board Corel made in his Woods 5 class. He is donating the board to the Sears Trostel 12th Annual Bread ’N’ Boards event on Saturday, December 2, for the Signature Board Silent Auction. Come place your bid!