This month, Work IN Roads hosted the second annual Golden Shovel Competition.  Last year four teams from two schools participated. This year nine teams from nine schools entered, making for an exciting and tough day of competition. 

During the competition, teams of three students from various high schools had to work together to build a 25-by-25-foot graded building pad to project specifications. Team members had to work closely as a team switching in out of the machinery while not only meeting building pad precision and efficiency, but also staying within the time limits. The tasks included operating loaders to transport materials, staking the pad, reading laser transits, grading and demonstrating their knowledge of equipment safety and maintenance. 

Each team was composed of three high school students. This year, we had the privilege of coaching Columbia City High School. Columbia’s team was made up of three Seniors Eli Ralston, Jon Reiff, and Garret Shepard. Coaches from our Milestone team included Ben Rodkey, Chad Baker and Nick Morken.  

To prepare for the tough competition that lay ahead of them, our Milestone coaches and the high school students worked together in the weeks ahead of the competition to show up prepared for the day. 

The three seniors from Columbia had piloted the Civil Engineering pathway at their school the previous year and spent weeks on a rotation with various companies throughout the Northeast Indiana region to continue their learning and apply classroom knowledge to the real world.  

All that training and practice paid off when the judges’ results came in at the 2024 ICI Golden Shovel Competition, thanks to the experience and hard work Eli, Jon and Garret took home the gold!  

“It was a privilege working with these guys. They are hardworking and made it easy as coaches. They are hardworking, respectable, and listen to what they were told. Even if they had more experience operating a machine, they respected our time. It was an honor,” said Nick Morken, Fort Wayne Milestone surveying assistant and layout technician. 

Congratulations to all participants in this year’s competition. Thank you to instructors who are out there supporting the civil construction industry. Thank you to all who made this event possible, especially IUOE Local 103 for hosting. We look forward to seeing how this event will grow in the years ahead.