West Hardin Air Conditioning Class Wins Awards

IWEST HARDIN, Aprili 7, 2008 - In February the West Hardin HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) class competed at the district level at the Lamar Institute of Technology and took 3rd and 4th places.

Mr. Henry Gaus, (LIT’s Hvac program director), his instructors, and students hosted the district contest for the school districts competing. At this contest Tommy Watkins and Nick Crockett earned the right to compete at the state level. At the SkillsUSA state contest, held in Corpus Christi, Texas this April, Tommy Watkins placed 1st and Nick Crockett placed 2nd in the HVAC Technical Information division. These are first year students, and the district is very proud of them.

This is the fourth year West Hardin HVAC students have placed at the State Level with 2 of their students making it to the national level contest.

Instructor Rusty Hunt said, “The contests are just icing on the cake.”

The students are trained to become productive members of society by entering the skilled labor market or continuing their education. Mr. Hunt encourages his students to attain a college degree and use the skills learned in his class to help pay for their education.

Generally, after 2 years of training, the students graduate with a federal Environmental Protection Agency license which certifies them to legally work repairing air conditioners. West Hardin is one of the few schools in the area offering this program.