Paul Hallam is Plumbing Instructor of the Year

April 6, 2010
An Indianapolis-area plumbing instructor is this year’s recipient of the CONTRACTOR magazine Plumbing Instructor of the Year Award.

LANSDOWNE, VA. — An Indianapolis-area plumbing instructor is this year’s recipient of the CONTRACTOR magazine Plumbing Instructor of the Year Award. Paul Hallam, an instructor at Mechanical Skills Inc., received his award from CONTRACTOR Editor-in-Chief Bob Mader during the HVACR and Plumbing Instructors Workshop here in late March.

The late Diane Cloud, who was the administrator of Mechanical Skills Inc., Indianapolis, first nominated Hallam.

Hallam is an outstanding educator, Cloud wrote in her nomination, because of, “his knowledge of the industry and his dedication to continuing to improve his ability to train and instruct each and every student throughout his 20 years of teaching.”

Hallam’s use of trivia and challenge games were creative ways to help his students learn, Cloud noted.

Hallam is a third generation plumbing contractor who has been involved with the program for several years. His father, Bob, was instrumental in getting the school program up and running several years ago when Indiana passed the statewide plumbing licensing law.

Brenda Dant, executive director of Indiana PHCC, who also nominated Hallam, praised his attention to detail, his organizational abilities and his skill in relating to students. He challenges his students to be thorough and steadfast, Dant said. He impresses upon them the value of the industry and stresses the need to be professional. Muddy boots, cell phones, and excuses for incomplete assignments are simply unacceptable in Hallam’s classroom. He has the respect of his students because they know he has been there and done that.

Through the years Hallam has sat on the board Mechanical Skills Inc. and given countless hours to curriculum development. Last year when the state law changed and mandated that each school be required to administer practical exams, it was Hallam who gathered teachers and coordinators from throughout the state to help devise a uniform, quality exam. The Indiana Plumbing Commission approved the exam on its first submission.

Hallam is well‐respected by his students, fellow teachers and his peers, and that is why he is an outstanding choice as CONTRACTOR magazine’s plumbing instructor of the year.

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