On May 13, Woods presented his project to the Alcona Hometown Heroes, a group of Alcona graduates who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Woods’ project will be added to the new Alcona Schools Wall of Honor.

Woods said that this is his second year in woodshop. He decided to add woodshop to his schedule because he needed a math credit, but ended up really enjoying the class. He now plans to continue woodworking as a hobby after high school and is building a woodshop in his garage.

His original idea for the project was to create the American flag. Woods hoped to give the project to Veterans Affairs once completed.

Alcona Woodshop Teacher Tim Campbell had a stencil of an eagle that Woods decided to layer on top of the flag to create the final product.

Courtesy Photo Alcona senior Evan Woods’ woodworking project is seen. It will be given to the Alcona Schools Wall of Honor as a tribute to veterans in the community.

Shelly Hoffmeyer, distance learning coordinator for Alcona Schools as well as a part of Hometown Heroes, reached out to Woods about presenting his project for Hometown Heroes.

Woods said that the presentation went well and that he shook the hands of many of the veterans in attendance.

Additions to the Wall of Honor will be unveiled at the annual Alcona Hometown Heroes football game on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m., according to a post on the Hometown Heroes Facebook page.

With the project, Woods won his division in the regional Michigan Industrial and Technology Education Society (MITES) competition. He qualified for the state competition, which was held in Gaylord from May 7 to May 10, and he took second in his classification.

Campbell enters students in the competition every year, Woods said. Projects are judged on craftsmanship and degree of difficulty, according to the MITES competition rules.

There are 15 divisions of projects, with each division being divided into smaller classifications. Divisions include woodworking, animation, and applied technology, to name a few. Classifications in woodworking, for example, include flatwork, boxes, sculptures, and wood clocks.

Each classification is further divided into grade levels to promote competition between students of similar abilities, according to the competition rules.