July 21, 2006
For Immediate Release
For an interview:
Steve Fordham
(801) 863-8167
For additional information:
www.uvsc.edu/techcom/
www.skillsUSA.org
Father Coaches Son to National Gold Medal at SkillsUSA
As part of the Utah Valley State College silver medal winning
SkillsUSA team, UVSC Associate Professor Steve Fordham coached his
son and UVSC student Chad Fordham to gold in the Heating,
Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) contest at
the national SkillsUSA competition this June. The gold medal finish
marks the first time in UVSC history that a father-son duo has
accomplished such a feat.
C. Fordham, an air conditioning and refrigeration technology senior
from Springville, Utah, competed against 50 other state winners in
the day-long competition that included a written exam and eight hands-
on skill competitions. Each of the eight applied demonstrations took
from 30 to 60 minutes and covered knowledge skills on electrical
troubleshooting, air measurement and refrigerant component service.
“The hardest part was that there were so many different kinds of
equipment, so they were real life problems with real people,” C.
Fordham said. “While schooling was part of it, my dad raised me in
the business and I’ve been doing this since I’ve been born so it
was an ongoing process and it was good to show that I picked up some
of it.”
S. Fordham, a faculty member and department chair of the UVSC
Construction Technologies Department, has been a SkillsUSA advisor
since 1989. Though he has participated in the many top-10 UVSC
finishes over the past years, it has been 15 years since a UVSC
student has won a gold medal. According to him, to be a part of the
winning team many years later is great and to have his son be the
winner, makes the victory that much sweeter.
“I’ve seen the competitiveness at the national level increase as
well as the quality of the students and the complexities of the
equipment they work on,” S. Fordham said. “For me, as his advisor
and as his father, it was exciting to see Chad’s confidence in
handling and correctly diagnosing all the problems thrown at him.”
The air conditioning and refrigeration industry requires 20,000
qualified technicians each year in the ever-growing and changing
field. The UVSC Technology Management Department strives to meet that
rising demand as it works towards its mission goal to provide first-
class, highly technical, problem-solving graduates to meet the needs
of business and industry.
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College Marketing Contact:
Megan Laurie
(801) 863-7149
Written by:
Dixie Millet
(801) 863-8504
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