ACBS Junior Craftsman Award

By Danny Ross – President Sunnyland Chapter of the ACBS

On behalf of the Sunnyland Chapter and its highly acclaimed Sunnyland Chapter Apprentice Mentoring Program for Youth (SCAMPY), I was  please to present the ACBS Junior Craftsman Award to the brother-sister duo Emily and Isaiah Kadletz at the Sunnyland Chapter Annual Meeting.

Emily (16 years old) and Isaiah (14 years old) have been home-schooled since kindergarten, share similar-but varying-interests, and are team players in almost everything they do. Emily is typically the “planner” and has used her organizational and business-related mind to partner with her brother in bringing many diverse projects to fruition over the years, including those that involve aeronautical, woodworking, and boatbuilding tasks. Isaiah is the more hands-on, “operational” member of the duo, bringing to bear his multifarious and wide-ranging interests in the areas of woodworking, woodcarving, and almost all things mechanical.

At the ages of 8 and 6, the two began a lawn-care business. A neighbor donated to this endeavor a lawn mower in need of repair. Within months, the mower was rewired, the carburetor repaired, and a thriving business with regular customers was established. Shortly after this, their interests turned toward working with wood. Emily primarily enjoyed scroll-saw projects and making animals and other creative objects, whereas Isaiah took to wood carving and began producing his own fishing lures. Both brother and sister enjoy working with their hands and are fascinated with creating and building useful objects. For example, the siblings have been involved with the Experimental Aircraft Association and built one- and two-man aircraft out of wood and metal. The two also discovered an interest in furniture and taught themselves the skills of weaving and re-canning chairs, along with other restoration activities.

Emily and Isaiah originally came to the SCAMPY program following conversations they had with one of our program’s previous boatbuilding mentees. The two found the idea of building their own boat perfectly aligned with their existing interests. Together they are now building a 12-foot center-console fishing boat to be powered by a 9.9-hp engine. Isaiah hopes to one day enroll in an accredited boat­ building school and learn the trade. Emily, the businesswoman and support figure, takes inspiration from her older sister, Chloe, whose interest is in missionary work; Emily aspires to one day oversee and operate an orphanage. They have attended every available session at the SCAMPY facility, and their enthusiasm has been contagious, thereby providing inspiration for other mentees who have worked alongside them.

In recognition of the positive influence and craftsmanship of Emily and Isaiah, I am proud to present the ACBS Junior Craftsman Award to this exceptional brother-sister team.