Richard Laughlin is on a mission to restore pride in the building trades. “There seems to be a whole generation who have lost that pride. They only seem to value computers,” Richard, the winner of this year’s Fred Case Remodeling Entrepreneur of the Year Award, says.
But rather than just complain about this, Richard is doing something about it. With the help of other builders in his community, he started a self-funded, community-based trades program at the local high school from which students graduate with the skills they need to go directly into the workforce. Being self-funding, the program costs the school district zero in tax-based funding. And it’s a model that others across the country can replicate in their own communities.