L-146 honors top apprentices, graduates

Annual banquet provides opportunity to praise training efforts

AT THE LOCAL 146 (Edmonton, Alberta) 35th annual banquet, members of all ranks — from entry-level apprentices to retirees with over 55 years of service — celebrated their love for the union by honoring members earning service pins (see page 21), graduating apprentices, and top-level apprentices.

Edmonton Local 146 honors graduate and top apprentices at its annual banquet Jan. 9, l. to r.: front row, 2nd-year top apprentice Ricky Sens, first-year top apprentice Dan Maes, entry-level top apprentice Ryan Lacoursiere, and graduate apprentice Andrei Vilinski; back row, second-year top welder apprentice Graham Weatherbee and graduate apprentices Dylan Metheral and Dwayne Crowe.
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Finishing the year at the top of their class are Boilermaker top graduate apprentice Marco Lebouthillier, welder top graduate apprentice Kyle Hackman, Boilermaker second-year top apprentice Ricky Sens, Boilermaker first-year top apprentice Daniel Maes, welder first-year top apprentice Erin Zier, welder second-year top apprentice Graham Weatherbee, and Boilermaker entry-level top apprentice Ryan Lacoursiere.

The annual banquet was held Jan. 31 at the Delta Edmonton South Hotel. According to L-146 apprentice coordinator Allan Belter, Local 146 offers two very different types of apprenticeship programs, both of three-year duration. Their Boilermaker apprenticeship program, similar to what is found in the United States, covers a variety of skills. Their welding program provides graduates with a “welder” journeyperson status. Belter says most members do one apprenticeship or the other, but some graduate apprentices have gone on to complete both programs.

L. to r., Justin Smook and Oscar Fernandez are just two of the 31 new welding program graduates receiving recognition at the Local 146 annual banquet.
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Recent graduates of the Local 146 Boilermaker apprenticeship program include Jeffrey Bryan, Dwayne Crowe, Daniel Enjeneski, Adrian Geiger, Jonathan Gilchrist, Kyle Howard, Jeffrey Jarosz, Kevin Kostiniuk, Raymond Legere, Darcy Lens, Jason MacIntyre, Aaron McCalla, Scott McEvoy, Dylan Metheral, Thomas O'Hanley, Peter Paradis, David Pinault, Leandro Salazar, Jayson Sutherland, Andrei Vilinski, and Kenny Walsh.

Recent graduates of the Local 146 welder apprenticeship program include William Anderson, Kris Berg, Curtis Cameron, Adam Dickison, Kemal Felic, Oscar Fernandez, Jon Fullerton, Zoran Galic, Steve Gao, Curtis Hague, Bradley James, Justin Kidney, Ryan MacDonald, Terry MacEachern, Tim MacIntyre, Jason Munro, Adam Pearson, Wesley Pelletier, Jesse Permann, Shane Pierce, Adam Pronych, Lawrence Rabbit, Tedric Ryan, Kyle Saville, Jordan Smoliak, Justin Smook, Kristen Sobkiw, Scott Stone, Matthew Suian, Julien Theriault, Derrick Woytowich.

Local 146, a shop and construction lodge, was chartered in 1948.