They say practice makes perfect, and for the 10 students representing five different schools at the recent Wiring Contest Practice session held at Brantley County High School and sponsored by OREMC, they couldn’t agree more. For senior, —and the first place finisher—Grayson McPhaul from Ware County High School, it all came together. Last year he placed third, but this year, with more hands on experience under his belt, he felt much more comfortable in being presented with the wiring problem and how to proceed. The same was true for his demonstration speech. He felt very comfortable explaining to the judges the wiring example before them and how it all worked.

Second place finisher Zachery Kent from Wayne County agreed, noting, “This was my third year participating in the practice session and it was much easier this year. I’ve gotten more comfortable with figuring out the wiring problem and doing the demonstrations because I’ve actually been doing some real world wiring work as a part-time apprentice.” He is planning to formally be hired as a journeyman apprentice and wants to earn is master electrician license.

For first-timers Jeremiah Lopez and Yimy Martin from Valdosta High School, they enjoyed the opportunity to figure out the wiring problem and making it work. They likened it to a puzzle. Their Advisor Jarod Wayne said, “Practice sessions like this exposes them to a trade, find out if they like it and learn valuable skills. College isn’t for everyone, but they skills they learn here can be a pathway to becoming a helper and eventually an apprentice.”

Open to high school students in grades nine through 12, the wiring competition is an Agricultural electrification Career Development Event sponsored jointly by the Georgia FFA Association and the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation representing the state’s 41 electric membership cooperatives. The event is divided into three sections: a presentation/demonstration speech, problem solving questions and a wiring problem. Each section is timed and scored based on work completed and competency demonstrated. The top two winners from each of the six regions advance to the statewide competition.