Tuesday, August 1, 2023
High school students took home the AWFS Fresh Wood Student Competition top prizes – Best of Show and People’s Choice – when winners were announced on July 27 during the AWFS Fair in Las Vegas. Gage Day, a Corner Canyon High School (UT) student, won the Best of Show award in the 2023 AWFS Fresh Wood student woodworking competition after judges reviewed 40 finalist projects from 20 different high schools and colleges in North America.
Day was awarded a unique sculpture made by renowned chairmaker Brian Boggs, displayed at the Fresh Wood booth throughout the show. In addition, he received $2,000 and a copy of Cabinet / Closet Workshop software. The Best of Show award is sponsored by KCD Software. KCD also provided two additional copies of the Cabinet / Closet Workshop software to students in the competition.
Day also received First Place in the High School Seating category and High School Special Theme: Small Projects of the competition, which included another $1,000 prize.
The judges found the Best of Show award decision very difficult this year, with a tie between Gage’s project and The Apothecary Cabinet by Shepherd Zambonelli from Selkirk College, which led them to create a new award to recognize Shep’s project: The Judges’ Nod.
Fair attendees awarded the People’s Choice Award, and a $750 prize, to Alexander Murren Doherty at Dos Pueblos High School, for his Maloof Inspired Rocker. Zander’s project also received First Place in the High School Seating Category. Zander’s school will receive a PantoRouter thanks to People’s Choice sponsor PantoRouter.
MicroJig Tools sponsored a Bravo to Teachers award by presenting two GRR-RIPPER 2GO 3D push blocks to each teacher with a Fresh Wood finalist project.
The Fresh Wood 2023 judging panel – consisting of Ethan Abramson, Brian Boggs, Lois Snyder, Thomas Tuck, and Jamie Yocono – spent a full day at the AWFS Fair, carefully studying and discussing each project during the final scoring process.
First Place winners in each category and at each school level received a $1,000 prize, Second Place winners received $500, and Honorable Mention winners received $250. AWFS covers project shipping and most travel and hotel costs to bring the students and their teachers to Las Vegas.
source: woodworkingnetwork.com
Tags: awfs, AWFS Fair Fresh Wood, las vegas, wood, wood and panel, woodworking, woodworking and manufacturing, woodworking event, woodworking industry, woodworking USA
