As Rowan Hall Renovation Is Underway,
‘Safety-First Is The Watchword’
Another exciting construction project
is currently taking place at Williamson
College of the Trades — the renovation
of Rowan Hall.
The project includes the expansion of
the dining room, which will double in
size to approximately 5,300 square feet.
This will make it large enough to hold
the entire student body and more.
The lower level of the new dining
room addition will be utilized as future
flex space.
Other improvements include the ad-
dition of a new beverage center and
salad bar which will be located in the
center of the newly combined space.
The existing serving line will be com-
pletely renovated and will receive new
equipment. All of the tables and chairs
will be new as well. The old hardwood
floor will be replaced with new hard-
wood and new modern, efficient HVAC
systems will be installed.
Additionally, two new restrooms will
be added in the hallway outside the Ad-
vancement office.
Rowan Hall’s main lobby and the east
and west office wings will also receive
new hardwood flooring that will match
throughout and flow seamlessly into
the dining room. Fire sprinkler cover-
age will also be expanded to include the
entire dining room and common ar-
eas throughout the lower level and the
first and second floors of Rowan Hall
(George Dorm already has sprinklers).
The project is being funded through
a generous donation by Lee Rowan to
the “Building for the Future” capital
campaign. The project was designed
by Blackney Hayes Architects, the firm
owned by Kevin Blackney 7W6. The
general contractor is Wohlsen Con-
struction. Brian Molineux 0W9, of
Wohlsen, is the site superintendent.
Steve Cava 9W5, of W.B. Homes Inc.,
is serving as Williamson’s construction
manager.
7
A rendering of Williamson’s expanded dining room made by Blackey Hayes
Architects, the firm owned by Kevin Blackney 7W6. Rowan Hall renovations
also include putting in hardwood flooring in the dining room, main lobby, and
both sides of the first floor hallway; expanding fire sprinkler coverage; and
adding two new restrooms.
PLEASE NOTE: Should you be on
campus before the project is completed,
please do not go into the construction
areas. Only authorized personnel are
allowed in. Wohlsen Construction has
very strict safety procedures that must
be followed. We understand your curi-
osity, but safety must come first.
Service Week Lets Community Know of Williamson’s Great Mission
Continued from page 1
together with the staff and faculty,
alumni, board members, and friends
on projects with other local nonprof-
its in the area is a great way for them
to see how big an impact they can have
and why it is important to give back.
Whether the students were in the Do-
minican Republic with Rev. Specht or
here in Middletown Township, I think
they all felt a sense of pride in represent-
ing Williamson and making a difference
at so many of these great organizations
– I am very proud of all of them!”
Todd Zachary, senior vice president
and chief of staff, said, “Service Week
was the capstone of the year for our
students. It is designed to reinforce our
core value of service and to stress how
important it is to give back to your com-
munity throughout your life. It was also
hoped that this work will help our stu-
dents develop their self-character while
making an impact on the community.”
In addition to helping nonprofits,
Service Week helped to strengthen the
bond between students, faculty, and
staff by having them work side by side,
and students formed friendships with
fellow students they don’t normally in-
teract with.
Many attempts are made in a stu-
dent’s three years at Williamson to see
the importance of instilling the school’s
five core values — Faith, Integrity, Dili-
gence, Excellence, and Service — as
part of their everyday lives, and Service
Week emphasizes the great feeling of
helping others.
[Service Week photos are on page 24.]
Paint Seniors Lend A Hand And Make Valuable Contacts At SSPC Conference
SSPC 2017, the Society for Protective
Coatings’ 4-day national conference
and trade show at the Tampa Conven-
tion Center in Tampa, Fla., held from
Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, received a lot of help
from 10 Williamson paint and coatings
technology seniors.
Among the many tasks the seniors
helped with were registering guests,
packing backpacks with conference ma-
terials, making name tags, getting vari-
ous rooms in order, and doing whatever
was required.
The students were also able to make
many valuable contacts at the confer-
ence, which was attended by 1,500
protective coatings professionals from
around the world.
Margaret “Weemie” Kingham, place-
ment director and trip organizer, said
“This was an extremely worthwhile ex-
perience for our students. They made
contact with professionals in the protec-
tive coatings industry from across the
country. These are people who are most
likely to hire them later on. They also
spread the word about what Williamson
College of the Trades is all about.
“They worked very hard and helped
make everything run smoothly, freeing
up the time of the SSPC personnel to
tend to other conference matters. I am
proud of our young men. Their attitude
was great, they had a very nice appear-
ance, and they represented Williamson
very well. The SSPC people were very
pleased with our help and profession-
alism. The contacts we made already
led to Elecometer USA, Inc. donating a
great deal of equipment to Williamson’s
paint program.”
Jesse Martinez 1W7 said, “Attending
the SSPC Conference was a very valu-
able experience for the senior paint
class. I continued to develop my net-
working skills, and I learned how to
better conduct myself in a professional
manner. I gained insight from indus-
try leaders by asking them about their
careers and how they got to where they
are now. I made several business con-
tacts that opened up potential job leads.
The convention also gave me an oppor-
tunity to be an ambassador for William-
son.”
Daniel Crowley 1W7, said “This trip
was a great opportunity to learn more
about our trade and make many great
contacts in the industry that will help us
in our future job searches.”
Stefan Langley 1W7 said, “This trip
was helpful because it gave us the op-
portunity to see how big our field ac-
tually is. It is much larger than we had
imagined. We also learned that there
are a wide variety of employment op-
portunities in our field.”
Thomas McHale 1W7, said “You
couldn’t ask for a better trip. It provided
us with the opportunity to get to know
more about the industry we are training
for and to meet representatives of the
companies in the industry.”
Along with Kingham, also attending
were John Curran 0W5, paint and coat-
ings technology instructor, and Lori
Thoman, adjunct decorative trades in-
structor.
Paint and Coatings Technology seniors attending SSPC 2017, a conference
for protective coatings professionals in Tampa, Fla., helped make the confer-
ence a success, learned more about the coatings field, and made valuable
contacts.