Students of the welding programs here at Lake Land now have a club! Photo by Mitch Tobias/Welding Gallery via The Crucible Oakland.
The Welding Club has begun its first year on campus, meaning that they are starting fresh. The President of the club is Norman Philips, the Vice-President is Connor Kernaghan, the Secretary is Ty Walker, Publicity Manager is Nic Mohler and the Advisor is James Crowder. Crowder is currently the welding instructor and coordinator.
According to Philips, “the club has been active for a month now.” He mentioned the purpose of the club is “to form a club that can be used as a career or hobby. In addition, I want to create an atmosphere and show the fun in welding. I want prospective members to get a taste of welding either as a hobby or career.”
In regards to fundraising, “the club will weld for people in order to receive money. We will work on a project and sell grill items, fire pits, jewelry and other accessories.”
He stated the club “meets on Tuesdays, beginning at 6:00 PM in Room 106 at the Vocational Tech Building on campus.” He went on to explain, “there are welding classes going on all day, and if we were to have the meeting, then it would interfere with them. Weekends don’t work due to people living far away and having to work. It is the first year with the new advisor.”
To the uninformed people, he defined welding as “taking two pieces of metal together, getting it hot and melting it together using electricity.”
He specified the first major event the club participated in was the “Fab Tech conference, held at the McCormick Place in Chicago on Tuesday, September 12th. The drive to and from there was okay, since the van that we were riding in wasn’t the best in the world. In January, we will go to another event at McCormick Place.”
The Fab Tech in Chicago was a four-day event from September 11th-14th , and welcomed 40,505 attendees from across the globe. The event represented 80 countries, and all 50 states. These industry professionals converged to explore cutting-edge technology, engage in education sessions, establish new business relationships, and foster invaluable networking connections.
Let’s welcome the Welding Club to the list of many clubs here on campus and to ensure that they have a successful tenure.
