Announcing My Retirement by Wayne Cummings

In 2004, I started teaching both commercial and industrial classes for the FTI. Two years later, I came on full time and was asked to develop an industrial/bridge painting program. Luckily, the leadership was patient, as I had lots to learn.

Over the past 15 years, we have built a program that trains men and women to be industrial painters. We are lucky to have the facilities we have, and even luckier that the FTI trustees are forward thinking and are willing to give the program the tools and instructors to grow the program for the future.

That future is bright for our apprentices and journey workers. Certifications in different aspects of the trade, like de-leading steel (C3) and coating application (CAS), are becoming the standard, and our apprentices are up to the challenge. Our contractors continue to be pleasantly surprised by the quality of our apprentices.

I have been fortunate to be allowed on this great ride and thanks go out to all who have supported me along the way. Thanks to the prior administration for hiring me, thanks to the current administration for keeping me, and special thanks to Tony Hernandez for always championing my cause and keeping me informed of what the contractors need and helping me meet those needs.

I officially retired on April 1, but I hope to stay involved in teaching some classes, doing some work for the SSPC/NACE and the FTI-IU. As I have said many times over the last few weeks, I want to stay involved, but I don’t want to come to work every day. 