Pipeliners Local 798

2012 - 2013 Winners 

Jason Rudd has been a proud Welder member of Local Union 798 since 2008.  He currently attends Lake Sumter State College in Leesburg, FL, and the University of Central Florida through one of their satellite campuses at Valencia Community College in Orlando, FL.  His greatest accomplishment is his grade point average.  He holds a 4.0 GPA and has been on the President’s or Dean’s list every semester.  He is seeking a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering.  He also plans to continue his education and pursue a Master’s degree in the same field, as well as an AWS Welding Engineer Certification.  By the time this is printed in the Blue Light, he will have completed his lower division classes and will have begun the core engineering program requirements.  For the next year, he will study advanced material science, statics, dynamics, and electrical engineering systems.

Cole Hendrix Forrest graduated as a Distinguished Graduate with a 97.6 GPA from Keller High School in Texas.  He applied the same hard work and tenacity on the football field where he earned a varsity football letter. He was also selected to the High School Coaches Association All-State Academic Team.  During high school, Cole became a blood donor, something he plans on continuing throughout his life.  Cole is currently a freshman at Oklahoma State University, pursuing a major in Business and a minor in Geology.  Dedicated to his studies, Cole earned a 3.79 GPA his first semester and was appointed to the Dean’s List.  Cole recently accepted the honor of becoming a founding father of the Oklahoma State University chapter of the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity.  This summer, Cole is looking forward to being a Local Union 798 welder helper.  Cole is the grandson of Doyle Hendrix.  Doyle is a 22-year Retired Welder who also served Local Union 798 as a Business Agent and Financial Secretary Treasurer .

Troy Pilcher is currently a junior at Northeastern State University in Northeast Oklahoma.  Majoring in Finance, he is a non-traditional student trying to complete his degree after an absence of 10 years.  He has owned and operated a successful construction business for 13 years.  He has maintained a GPA of 4.0 throughout his college career and has consistently been at the top of his class.  A member of the Alpha Chi honor society, he has been on the President’s honor role for 3 semesters. After completing his degree he hopes to begin a career in some aspect of real estate or financial planning.  He is still not committed to any one career path and that is one reason he chose Finance as a major.  A Finance degree would open a lot of doors had he hopes his degree, coupled with his business experience, will help him begin the career he has always wanted.

Aimee Elliott is a 2012 graduate from Riverdale Academy in Coushatta, LA where she played softball all four years of high school, was a member of the cheer squad, as well as an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, serving as President of the club during her senior year.  Aimee not only received numerous athletic awards but excelled academically as well.  She was chosen to represent her high school in numerous subjects in Literary Rallies each year.  She graduated high school with a 3.8 GPA. Aimee is now majoring in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Louisiana at Monroe where she will be a sophomore in the upcoming fall semester.  She made the Dean’s List by finishing her first semester with a 3.81 GPA.  She is also a member of the ULM Chapter of the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association where she participates in community service projects, such as reading to kids at local elementary schools.  Aimee’s future plans are to get her Master’s Degree from ULM and become a Speech-Language Pathologist with a special concentration in working with people who have Autism. Aimee is a family oriented person and is very involved within her community.  Aimee is the granddaughter of 48 year Local 798 Welder Emmitt Elliott, daughter of second generation, 32 year Welder Mitchell Elliott and wife Kim, and sister of third generation, 7 year Welder DeWayne Elliott.  Aimee also has two uncles, Marty and Mark Elliott, who are Local 798 Welders as well.

Daniel Davis currently attends Marshall University. His accomplishments include being a West Virginia Promise Scholarship Recipient, Marshall University Presidential Scholarship Recipient, 2012 Rob Hardman Spirit of Champion Award Winner, 2012 Clendenin Women’s Club Scholarship Winner and he made the Dean’s List and a 4.0 GPA in his first semester at Marshall University.  He attends Marshall University’s Honors College, is a John Marshall Honors Scholar, a National Honor Society Member and a member of the CORE-NET research group in the Marshall University College of Information Technology and Engineering’s Weisberg Division of Computer Science. Throughout his time at Marshall University, he hopes to take advantage of every opportunity to expand his knowledge, both inside and outside of his discipline.  He is a firm believer that one can only become a master of his field by learning how that field affects others.  Once he graduates, he hopes to find a fulfilling career that will allow him to both exercise the knowledge gained in school and continue to grow as a computer scientist.  As a long-term goal he hopes to one day have a part in creating an operating system that could revolutionize the way personal computers are used.  This goal is one of the driving forces behind his educational pursuits.  Daniel is the grandson of deceased Welder Member Ross Weyant.

Tyler Childs is currently a Junior at Henderson State University where he is majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Spanish.  In the future he plans to further his education at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  He hopes to become a Pediatric Oncologist. Tyler is a part of Henderson State University’s Honors College, a member of Alpha Chi Honor Society, and has been on the Dean’s and President’s Lists.  As a leader at the college he volunteers as a Campus Ambassador (Tour Guide), All-Greek Council Representative and serves as Vice President of the Honors Hall Council.  He is a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity in which he held the positions of Junior Marshall, Vice President of Recruitment, Vice President of Programming, and currently serves as President.  He is a member of the Biology Club, Spanish and also Chemistry Clubs. Tyler volunteers in his community on a continuous basis.  He walks dogs weekly at Arkadelphia Humane Society, reads to children at Perrit Elementary School and spends time with the kids at Arkadelphia Boys and Girls Club.  He tutors students in Biology, Chemistry and Spanish and also participates in Reddie to Serve Day (a biannual campus-wide clean-up).  He is Son of Welder Member Tommy Childs and Welder Helper Member Natalie Childs.

Anna Grace Cobb is the daughter of Gary and Carolyn Cobb of Farmerville, LA and is granddaughter of Local 798 Member Rex Albritton.  She is a Sophomore at the University of Louisiana at Monroe in Monroe, LA where she is majoring in Nursing.  She will apply to the Professional Nursing Program in Fall of 2013.  Her passion for helping others directed her towards this career path, and she could not ask for a better University to pursue such an amazing career. She went to high school at Ouachita Christian School in Monroe, LA where she was blessed with many incredible opportunities that would help her achieve academic, athletic and spiritual goals in her life.  In high school she had many different accomplishments, both academically and athletically.  She finished her senior year with an honors GPA of 5.0, giving her the honor of Salutatorian at her graduation ceremony.  She was also able to complete enough dual enrollment courses to place her as a Sophomore in the second semester of college, helping her to make the application process faster for Nursing school.  She maintained all A’s throughout school and was a member of many different organizations.  She had membership in National Honors Society, National Art Honors Society, Lambda Sigma Kappa (a service group), Spanish Club, Art Club, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  She was also a part of Varsity track and field where she broke the school record and won the state title for all classes in Discus throw.  All of these accomplishments she never could have reached without the love and continuous support of family and friends.  In the future she plans to finish school and pursue her career in hospital nursing.