Golden Apple: CLC Welding Program Partners With Crow Wing County Fairgrounds

As you drive around the Brainerd Lakes Area, you may not know that some of the signs you see are made by the Central Lakes College Welding Program. Last summer, the program partnered with the Crow Wing County Fair to build them a new sign.

Students in the CLC welding lab were hard at work Wednesday night when members of the Crow Wing County Fair Board stopped by to deliver an important check.

“We donated $1,500 to the welding program. Hopefully they can utilize that and inspire some other person to come forward in this welding program,” said Gary Doucette, Crow Wing County Fair Board Manager.

Last summer, Rod Berg with the help of fellow students in the welding program designed and constructed a new welcome sign for the fairgrounds.

“We really had no idea what our finished project was going to look like but let me tell you, it’s beautiful,” said Sharron Ryappy, Crow Wing County Fair Board President.

“It just fits in so well, the colors and the whole nine yards,” added Doucette.

The fair board members presented a check that went directly into the Welding Program scholarship fund that benefits welding students specifically.

“I would say possibly next year or the year after we should have enough of a nest egg to be able to start awarding scholarships to students and that’s really important because most everyone that comes through the welding program really does want to be and wants to be successful and the main burden that they have is the financial expense of going to school,” explained David Otto who is a Central Lakes College welding instructor.

Scholarships are a huge asset to students at CLC as a whole. “We would not be able to provide the opportunities to students that we do without this type of partnership and of course the scholarship support,” said Hara Charlier, Central Lakes College President. “So we’re very grateful to the Crow Wing County Fair to all they’ve done for not just this program but so many other programs at Central Lakes College.”

CLC and the Crow Wing County Fair is looking forward to continuing their partnership in the future.

“We’re all about partnership and this is a perfect example of an organization giving our students tremendous opportunity, creative students, amazing faculty, and this organization giving back by donating to the welding department so that it can create an opportunity for other students,” added Charlier.