Conestoga wood products program students have earned a clean sweep in a regional student design competition sponsored by the Canadian Wood Council. Dan Jessel of Guelph shared the $3,000 first prize, Nathan Crawford of Clinton earned the $2,000 second prize and Dan Boeschenstein of Kitchener won the $1,000 third prize in the best product student contest presented by the Canadian Wood Council and sponsored by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
In addition, the project jointly done by Jessel and University of Waterloo student Melanie Ross was judged best of its kind in Ontario and earned the pair an additional $5,000 award, which was recently announced at the annual Wood WORKS! awards gala in Toronto.
Participation in the contest required all students to meet certain criteria. All entrants had to develop and submit a product prototype or model, as well as a complete written report. All of the products also had to be manufactured from Ontario woods.
The awards are given under the Wood WORKS! program of the Canadian Wood Council. Wood WORKS! operates in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia to promote excellence in the use of Canadian wood products.
Jessel is in the diploma-level, co-op program in Woodworking Technology - Architectural Millwork at Conestoga. Ross is a student in the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture. Their project was a fold-out combination stool and table.
Crawford is a student in the Woodworking Technology program, which also features co-op education and also leads to a Conestoga diploma.
Boeschenstein is also in the Woodworking Technology - Architectural Millwork program.
Conestoga is Ontario's foremost college in wood products education. The Doon campus in Kitchener houses the Woodworking Centre of Ontario, a major training facility. In the woodworking field, Conestoga has two-year and three-year diploma-level programs, postgraduate programming and part-time, continuing education courses.
The Canadian Wood Council is the national association representing manufacturers of Canadian wood products used in construction, and its goal is to increase market access and expand market demand for the products and services of these manufacturers.
Contact: Mark Bramer, 519-748-5220, ext. 3468, mbramer@conestogac.on.ca