A 21-year employee of Pennsylvania-based site preparation specialists Schlouch Incorporated is the Technician of the Year as judged by the Association of Equipment Management Professionals.
Fleet Technician John Kelchner received the award from Donté Shannon of AEMP and Brian
John Kelchner (right) receives 2019 Technician of the Year Award from Brian Riniker of John Deere
Riniker of John Deere, which co-sponsors the award program, said a recent news release from the AEMP.
The winner’s supervisor, Kevin Reimert, nominated Kelchner for the honor “for saving his company thousands of dollars in crane rentals by fabricating a lifting tool to be used on large excavators,” as well as for his team leadership, the release said.
What set Kelchner apart from the other 14 nominees, however, was his humanity, the release added. “He makes decisions regarding repairs as if his family were the ones to use it, because they are.”
He even regards his co-workers like family, the release said. For example, he uses an air scrubber to shield them from harmful fumes, and he converted a foot-control on a machine to hand control for a worker with an amputation. As a hobby, Kelchner makes sculptures from discarded equipment parts and scrap that are auctioned off for local charities.
“As leaders in our industry, one of the most important things we can do to retain good technicians and promote the career field is to give public acknowledgement of their technicians’ skills and value to their organizations,” Riniker said.
The AEMP also recognized two other 2019 nominees “as exceptional examples” of technicians the industry needs: Alton Hanes of the Virginia Department of Transportation; and Nathan Baker of the United States Air Force.
The awards were presented at the annual AEMP Shift Conference in Kansas City in October.