COLUSA, CA (MPG) – Having skilled tradespeople in areas such as construction, electrical work, plumbing, mechanics and welding are essential to not only our daily lives but to the global economy as well.
Robledo (second from right) were on hand to present the check to Tim Crabtree and Colusa FFA members William England and Cody Ortiz.
As such, eight Colusa High School students received jumpstarts in their respective career training thanks to generous donations provided by local and national organizations.
This past January, Colusa’s Cody Ortiz, Daniel Thompson, Austin Kittle, and Preston Marquez had the opportunity to attend Butte College’s Arc Exposure, a two-day training program sponsored by Miller Welding and many other industry partners.
Ag mechanics instructor Tim Crabtree additionally singled out the Sycamore Family Trust and the Colusa Ag Alumni for “their continued support of this yearly event, which allows our students to attend.”
Another significant donation to the students came from a Deroda-NAPA fundraiser spearheaded by NAPA salesman Frank Camilli, which was designed to support local mechanical students who are entering the trades.
According to Camilli, the committee for the community development group, comprised of NAPA stores in Corning, Orland, Willows, Williams, Colusa and Arbuckle, selected the Colusa FFA Chapter after speaking with Crabtree.
Cody Ortiz and Luis Flores.
“Looking at the future and health of our local community, we agreed that the youth will be the key to that success,” Camilli said. “The promotion was held during the Colusa County Farm Show where over $4400.00 was raised. Aided by the support of local NAPA representative Jason Kelly and others traveling in from around the west coast, there was also a generous donation from NAPA Sacramento, and one from Milwaukee Tool. Jeff Paschal, Deroda’s NAPA general manager, played a key role involving local store employees to assist in the success of the promotion.”
Three students, Ortiz, William England and Oscar Ramos, each of whom is enrolled in a mechanical program at Butte College next fall, received a set of tools courtesy of NAPA.
Additional contributions came from the TRADESTRONG Foundation, an organization based in Newcastle (Placer County) that according to its website seeks to “elevate the trades.”
Ortiz received a TRADESTRONG scholarship, while Ramos, along with Luis Flores and Oscar Lopez, who will attend electrical training school in Sacramento, received gear bags.
Crabtree, the long time Colusa educator who is retiring this year, expressed his gratitude to the community and industry sponsors saying, “It’s amazing what these groups are doing for our kids. The students will now have the supplies they need to complete their training and move on to be successful in their careers. I am extremely thankful to these organizations for the support they have given Colusa High School.”