Partnership Drives Welding Rodeo

Sept. 15, 2010 - PRLog -- Dewitt, NY – September 13, 2010: Gases and welding salespeople build trust by working with customers to pinpoint their needs and recommend efficient solutions. For Marshall Judy, sales manager at Central Welding Supply (North Lakewood, WA), there may be no greater example of this than the Welding Rodeo—the annual two day event that put Bellingham Technical College (BTC) in Bellingham, Washington, on the national map and doubled its enrollment. As part of its continued commitment to helping young professionals further their careers in the gases and welding industry, the August issue of GAWDA Edge features an article entitled “Welding Rodeo Round-Up.”

It all started with a simple idea from BTC welding instructor Don Anderson. “I wanted to do something unique and special to promote our program and to get the word out about welding,” Anderson says. That idea was the Welding Rodeo, a two-day welding sculpture competition featuring 80 professional and amateur welders. Anderson had a concept, but the college’s welding program lacked the resources to make the event a reality on its own. That’s where Central Welding Supply’s Marshall Judy stepped in, getting his company on board to provide equipment, prizes and, most importantly, time and effort to ensure things went according to plan.

One of the Central Welding Supply’s most important contributions is to maintain the equipment used in the Rodeo. “When teams only have eight hours to make a sculpture from scrap metal, they are running their equipment very hard,” says Judy. “We make sure everything keeps running, and we supply spare equipment just in case a machine breaks down and we are unable to fix it.” With the help of Central Welding Supply, the event has blossomed into a major attraction, drawing 4,000 attendees and raising $6,000 in scholarships in 2010.

To find out how one distributor shaped the nation’s original Welding Rodeo and how the event got its name, head over to www.gawdaedge.org and check out the latest issue of GAWDA Edge, the online resource for young professionals in the gases and welding industry.

For more information, contact Devin O’Toole, editor of GAWDA Edge, at editor@gawdaedge.org or 315-445-2347.

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About GAWDA
Founded in 1945, the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA) is the premier source for manufacturing knowledge, education and networking. Through its member journals (www.weldingandgasestoday.org), e-magazines, newsletters and industry wiki (www.gawdawiki.org), GAWDA connects suppliers of gases and manufacturers of related equipment as well as manufacturers of welding equipment and distribution leaders, for the purpose of safely delivering optimal solutions to the users of those products. GAWDA publications are the industry’s voice for all matters related to the latest technology and the most up-to-date processes spanning welding equipment and products and services related to industrial, medical, specialty and cryogenic gases. A 501(c)3 organization, GAWDA members are located throughout North America.