A plumber having a tool bag to bring to a job is just as important as a businessman having a briefcase to bring to their office, S&D Plumbing owner and operator Sam Dowdy said.
Through partnering with local suppliers, Dowdy’s business gifted tool bags to each student in a plumbing class at Taylor High School.
Each red Milwaukee tool bag contained items that are valued at $300.
“One of the biggest obstacles of an apprentice coming is that every apprentice has to buy his own tools,” Dowdy said. “The majority of the business owners, maybe seven out of 10, will provide cutting tools or mechanical tools, like saws and tools, which we do, but there are some that do not supply anything.”
Each bag was equipped with a tape measure, a magnetic leveler, three different types of copper tube cutters, a pair of work gloves, a pen, safety glasses, two pairs of channel lock pliers, a reaming tool for copper, a hammer and either a safety vest or shirt.
Sam Dowdy, owner and operator of S&D Plumbing, and Moore Supply representative Cory Milam spoke to the plumbing class at Taylor High School. The class is taught by teacher L.C. Parker. Photo by Hunter Dworaczyk
After the bags were passed out to the students, Dowdy recommended they put their names on their new tools. Dowdy said he didn’t want the students to later learn the hard way that tools are easily misplaced or taken mistakenly by other plumbers.
“I know it didn’t mean anything to them, but a couple years from now, or while they’re in school, if they have their name on the tool, they can track it down,” he said.
The plumbing class, located in the high school, is part of Craftsman Center, which seeks to help fill a workforce deficit by making construction trades more attractive to high school students and adults.
Through Craftsman Center’s recent efforts, the students who received the tool bags will be able to graduate high school with a plumbing license. There to celebrate the gifts were school officials, such as principals and counselors. Dowdy said the partnership between the school district and the trades is exciting to him.
“It’s a mutual affirmation, because they’re realizing the importance,” he said. “There’s as much value in trade education as education itself. It was honorable to me to have them there.”
Moore Supply, Winn Supply and Ferguson Supply donated the tools.
Cory Milam represented Moore Supply and spoke to the plumbing students.
Dowdy said he asked Milam to speak so that the students saw that there are more possibilities in the plumbing industry than fixing pipes.
“There’s other things than just turning the wrench,” Dowdy said. “The wrench is what gets you going, but think bigger. I didn’t want to say these (bags) were provided by S&D Plumbing only. These are provided by the industry.”
