Certified VGCC Evening Welding Class Includes 73 Year-Old Ex-Fighter Pilot
Vance-Granville Community College just keeps turning out certified welders.
The eight members of the evening graduating class passed the national certification exam of the American Welding Society last week, bringing to 515 the number of certified welders produced by Vance-Granville since it began the Welding Technology program in 1972.
Included in the class is 73-year-old Bob Miller of Kittrell, the oldest person to go through the welding course, according to Bill Jones, program head, and Wilbur Slaughter, evening instructor.
In addition to Miller, the most recent of VGCC’s certified welding graduates are John Champion and David Harris of Henderson, Jeremy Braziel and Harry Wright of Oxford, Eric Schinazi of Grassy Creek, Kirk Elliott of Bullock and Robert Wagner of Warrenton.
Miller is a retired Air Force fighter pilot who spent 26 years in service. He said he took the welding program for “enlightenment” and to sharpen his skills. He’s been welding since he was in his 30s, and he has several vintage airplanes he plans to use his skills on, as well as tractors and other equipment.
Miller deflects attention from himself and praises his younger classmates and his instructor, Slaughter, who will retire in September after 30 years at VGCC. “I’ve been going to schools all my life, and Wilbur Slaughter is among the top 5 percent of all the instructors I’ve had,” Miller said. “He not only speaks the language of welding, but he teaches life skills.”
Of his younger classmates Miller says, “They are smart guys and hard working, and most of them are much better welders than I am. “I just tried to pass along some of my life knowledge and challenged them to keep learning.”
Welding Technology is offered at Vance-Granville as a one-year day program and as a two-year program in the evening. A few slots remain for Fall Semester beginning Aug. 18. For further information and to apply for the program, contact Vance-Granville Community College at 492-2061.
Members of the 2003 graduates of Vance-Granville Community College’s evening Welding Technology program have passed the national certification test of the American Welding Society. Front row, from left, are: Kirk Elliott of Bullock, John Champion and David Harris of Henderson, Jeremy Braziel of Oxford, and Wilbur Slaughter, instructor. Back row, from left, are Eric Schinazi of Grassy Creek, Bob Miller of Kittrell, Robert Wagner of Warrenton and Harry Wright of Oxford.
