By Jessica Stockton O’Donnell

My name is Jessica.  I am the oldest of four children… three girls and one boy.  I am writing to tell you of my father, Ken Stockton’s story of success.

Thirty years ago my father picked up his first torch.  He was working on a small railroad and every thing was going great, but everything changes -- some for the good and some not so good.  Mom always said Dad losing that job was the best thing to happen to the family.  He decided to go to welding school here in New Jersey; it was a one year course.  He went full time and worked part time as a welder’s helper in a shop at night.  A year later, he graduated with his certificate.  Mom said he look so proud, he was ready to make his mark on the welding field.  He moved from shop to shop taking what he learned and applying that knowledge to the next job.  That time was tough on both of them.

Then my Dad’s career really started to move ahead.  He landed a position with the largest electric company in the state of New Jersey as second class welder mechanic. They taught him all different types of welding and cutting operations and he passed all of the welding tests.  But he always showed an interest in what the NDE (nondestructive evaluation) inspectors did.

Dad found the nerve to ask Mom if he could take two weeks vacation and travel out to Hobart Institute of Welding to certify as a CWI (certified welding inspector)!  The next four weeks waiting for the results of the test was rough on him; Mom and Dad really could not afford the money for the trip… and there were three of us then.  The news came that he passed!  He was a CWI and he showed that certification to everyone he met!  The original certificate still hangs in the family room today.

As a welder in the power company, he moved through the levels until he was promoted to Welder Mechanic First Class.  He remained in that position, working in the repair shop and the power stations, always reading welding books and welding journals, learning everything he could about welding.  One day he heard about a part time job at the welding school he attended.  He filled out an application and was called for an interview. The next day the owner called and hired Dad.  That was the start of his teaching career. He applied to become a CWE (certified welding educator) a few months later.  His second AWS (American Welding Society) certification was framed and hung next to the CWI certificate.  

Once a month, Dad switched to day shift so he could attend the AWS meeting, always trying to learn more about welding.  One of the committee members approached him after the meeting ended and asked him to join the board and work on one of the committees.  This was right up his alley!  They place him on his “dream committee,” the education committee which handles the seminars and the Skills/USA welding contest in the state.  From this one invitation, he was asked to serve as an advisor to the vocational high school in our county which he still serves on to this day.  The NJ Section of AWS moved him through the chairs until one day in 1997 he was elected Chairmen of the Section thus reaching another milestone.  

In May of 1998 he was nominated for the Dalton E. Hamilton CWI award for the district, and in September, the section Chairman presented the award to my Dad; he received this award again in 2001.  Later that year the students he was teaching nominated him for the AWS Private Sector Instructor of the Year Award 2001.  He thought this was his banner year…only to be topped the next year in Chicago 2002 when he was awarded the Dalton E. Hamilton Memorial CWI Award for the Nation.  He stills talks about that trip and meeting the President of the AWS.

After the trip to Chicago, Dad’s career made another turn; he was transferred to the company Research Lab where he was assigned to the NDE group that is responsible for all of the nondestructive testing in the company.  He traveled from the nuclear stations in the south to the fossils stations in the north of the state and everywhere in between. The Research Lab would send him out to their larger clients and have him teach welding to their mechanics who needed to learn how to weld or to teach mechanics who needed to increase their welding skills. During the nine years he spent working for the Lab, he earned four ASNT Level II Certifications (PT, MT, UT, and AE) and renewed his CWI.

Three years ago the AWS District 2 section Chairmen elected Dad as the Director of District 2, something he still can’t believe!  He is meeting with the people that write the welding articles that he has been reading for years.  He was just reelected for another three years as Director of District 2.  He says, “UNBELIVABLE!”

The next turn in his career was a transfer back to the repair shop… not as a welder but as Maintenance Supervisor… where he is in charge of three trades: machinist, welders, and electricians…. most of the men and he worked side-by-side for years.  Two of the welders he had as students about ten years ago.  It’s a small world!

With all of his awards and certifications, he is most proud of our diplomas that hang in the family room.  His three daughters have their masters’ degrees,  and our brother is in his third year of college.  Dad has his first grandson and another grandson on the way.

To think this all started with a layoff that turned into a life long passion in the welding trade.  Mom was right!  Losing that job on the railroad was best thing that happen to the family!