Minwax® Announces 2009 Community Craftsman Award Recipients, Issues Call for Entries for 2010 Awards

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J., May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Minwax, the leading manufacturer of wood finishing and wood care products, has selected the Lancaster High School Carpentry Program of Lancaster, OH, as the grand prize winner in the 2009 Community Craftsman Award Program.  Building on past projects in which the students of the carpentry program have enriched their community, the group is being specially recognized this year for building dozens of wooden rocking toys – horses, snails, airplanes and motorcycles – for children at The Lighthouse, a local shelter for victims of domestic abuse.

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The Minwax® Community Craftsman Award is a national program that recognizes individuals and groups which promote community improvement through working with wood, and awards them financial grants and products to encourage continued community service.  As the 2009 Community Craftsman Award grand prize winner, the Lancaster High School Carpentry Program receives a $5,000 cash grant, a supply of Minwax products and a private wood finishing workshop with renowned do-it-yourself expert and author Bruce Johnson.  

The Lancaster High School Carpentry Program continues to build on a long history of projects completed for the community.  In addition to the wooden rocking toys, other projects include building cat shelters for local organization Animal Rescue Friends; creating doghouses and building sheds for the Fairfield Humane Society; and participating in a local Habitat for Humanity project house by doing trim carpentry.

"We are quite pleased to recognize the members of the Lancaster High School Carpentry Program for their outstanding community service," notes Janet Krakow, vice president, marketing, Sherwin-Williams Wood Care Products. "The students' tremendous contributions to their community and countless hours volunteered truly embody the spirit and intent of the Minwax® Community Craftsman Award.  It also demonstrates how an already gratifying activity – working with wood – can be even more satisfying when done for the good of others."

Individual Recognition Award

The 2009 Individual Recognition Award – including a $2,000 cash grant and a supply of Minwax products – was awarded to Ray N. Kendrick of Orlando, FL.  Kendrick, a retiree who spends long hours in his shop building wooden toys for abused and sick children in Central Florida, began making and donating toys for the holidays 16 years ago, starting with 50 toys the first year.  In 2009, working year-round, Kendrick made more than 3,100 wooden toys, which he donated to Ronald McDonald House, The Salvation Army, the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots, and several other local organizations.  

Runner-Up Award Recipients

Two organizations were named Community Craftsman Award runners-up for outstanding community service – the woodworking class at Auburndale High School in Auburndale, WI, and Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Fall River, MA.  Each will receive a generous assortment of Minwax products for use in future projects.  The woodworking class at Auburndale High School built a new display cabinet for their school's foyer, constructed custom-made storage cabinets for the athletic director's office, and improved the local elementary school by refinishing the center of the school's performance stage and building new shelving units for the library.  Students at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School constructed a 2,800-square-foot residence for four physically disabled adults, complete with entrance ramps, overhead lift tracking, extra-wide doorways for wheelchair access, and a four-foot-high bathtub.  

Minwax® Issues Call for Entries for 2010 Community Craftsman Award Program

Entries are being accepted for the 2010 Community Craftsman Award.  Individuals, community groups, schools, and associations that promote and participate in the betterment of their communities through woodworking are eligible participants.  The grand prize winner will receive a $5,000 cash grant, a supply of Minwax products, and a consultation with author and wood finishing expert Bruce Johnson.  Two runner-up winners will receive a supply of Minwax products.  Additionally, a special recognition award and cash grant of $2,000 will be presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to their community through woodworking.  The deadline for all submissions is December 31, 2010.  The winners will be announced in early spring 2011 and the names posted on the Minwax Web site at minwax.com.  All eligible applicants are encouraged to enter by writing a summary of recent woodworking projects that have been completed for the purpose of enhancing their community and helping others.  Entries can be submitted by either (1) uploading to the Minwax Web site at minwax.com, (2) via email by writing to [email protected], or (3) via mail by writing to MINWAX Community Craftsman Award, c/o Brushfire Inc., 2 Wing Drive, Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927.  For more information visit minwax.com.

SOURCE The Minwax Company