Third in a series of profiles about Quality Certification Program Representatives – links in the field between QCP Licensees and the Quality Certification Corporation.
Background and inspiration:
My 48-year career in woodworking took root while spending time in my grandfather’s woodshop in the 60s. Charles O. Manire was an accomplished furniture maker and woodcarver who also taught high school Math and Industrial Arts full-time for over 40 years. I continue to create small wood carving projects using over 40 vintage chisels and gouges used by my grandfather. I proudly carve on a traditional solid hard maple workbench that is one of hundreds made by my granddad’s woodshop students over his tenure. The bench I have was gifted to him upon his retirement from Dallas ISD.
Woodworking Career:
My woodworking career formally began after graduating high school in 1969. I worked my way through night school at the University of Houston as a trim carpenter and cabinetmaker for several Houston firms. Following in my grandfather’s footsteps, I finally obtained a BS in Technology with certification in Secondary Education in 1978. As an Industrial Arts teacher, I taught metalworking, woodworking and mechanical drawing at Cy Fair ISD until 1981 when I became a full-time woodworker after my son Matthew arrived.
My first 15 years in the trade were spent in the shop and field as cabinetmaker, furniture maker and installer. I ended my shop experience as the working foreman at a small but successful Houston shop. When I became a single parent in 1986, I moved into the office at a higher wage, and spent the next 22 years in sales, estimating and project management.
I’m proud to say that I became familiar with the Architectural Woodwork Institute and the AWI Standards very early in my career. Among the editions of the standards I kept is a thin threadbare 1973 issue. I’ve worked on many Premium Grade architectural millwork projects as both a craftsman and a project manager; first in Texas at the Carlton Cook Company, Wood Quest (Columbia Showcase) and the 3V Company, and then in Utah at Wavell-Huber Wood Products and Fetzer Architectural Woodworking.
The experiences at Wavell-Huber and Fetzer proved invaluable to me since both firms specialized in Premium Grade architectural woodwork of all types and manufactured required wood veneer panels in-house. My last major millwork project was the Allice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, NYC while with Fetzer which included flat and curved veneer paneling.
Career with QCP:
At the end of 2007, I left Utah to take a one-year sabbatical to travel the US before returning home to settle in the Texas Hill Country. I joined AWI QCP in 2009 after the retirement of QCP Rep, Ernest Perez. I take pride in the fact that Joe Sorrelli, a longtime AWI member and former AWI president, was among the QCP Reps that took part in my orientation and training. My background in woodworking helped me relate to and effectively communicate with firms during QCP inspections.
Territory: Southwestern United States
Projects Inspected: schools, hospitals, courthouses and offices
Contact Information: 512-815-7512, [email protected]
Personal:
My son and grandson live in Los Angeles, CA, and my daughter and two granddaughters live in Charlotte, NC. I moved to Marion, NC, in March 2020 to be near family and friends. I enjoy drawing in graphite, pen and ink, woodworking, woodcarving, gardening, hiking and reading.