MORAN — For those who assume today’s youth have lost touch with traditional skills, they haven’t met Brady Newman.
Newman, 18, is a craftsman with wood.
And last week, the Marmaton Valley High School senior got his due when he was named state champion for carpentry in the SkillsUSA competition held in Hutchinson.
Also medaling from MVHS was senior Zach Wise, who came in third in cabinet making.
The two students were among 38 who were given the task of constructing an intricately designed cabinet panel from blueprints.
Only five completed the project in time.
“There was no chance for a mistake,” Newman said.
Newman now goes to the national SkillsUSA competition in Louisville, Ken., June 20-24.
EVER SINCE he was 8 years old Newman has been working with wood.
By age 12, he was selling his handcrafted birdhouses.
The Newman homestead is replete with his and his dad, Brent’s, handiwork. Their most recent project is a potting shed for Brady’s mother, Sheila. All its makings, including the tin roof, came from an old barn that was recently torn down.
“I don’t think we put a penny in it,” said Brent Newman, not counting elbow grease.
Brent, who works in the oilfields, said his son’s carpentry skills have outpaced his own.
MVHS has offered the SkillsUSA program for the past four years.
Its popularity among students is “right behind FFA,” Brady said.
