The 2009 graduating class of the Great Lakes Boat Building School in Cedarville stands with their instructors before receiving their certificates of completion Friday, June 5. Pictured are (from left) KJ Scarpace, instructor Pat Mahon, Paul Aghababian, Terry Repp, Chris Eastman, Keith Ransom, Ryan Kasik, Will Hobson, Jeremy LaBore, and instructor Adam Burks. The Great Lakes Boat Building School in Cedarville graduated eight people in its second class of students Friday, June 5. About 75 people attended the graduation, including students' families, friends, and supporters of the trade school.

Executive director of the school Dave Lesh said he expects about half of the students to return to the school next fall to enroll in its new second-year advanced program, which will mainly focus on custom boat interiors. He said he has also received five applications for new students wanting to enroll in the first-year program next fall.

"Every day I'm getting somebody asking about it," he said. "I can see about eight to 10 students in the first year program, and five to seven in the second year program. We could conceivably have 13 to 17 students next year."

Jeremy LaBore addresses the audience during the Great Lakes Boat Building School graduation Friday, June 5, at the school in Cedarville. Eight students were graduated in the school's second year of operation. The new second-year, full-time program, which was approved by the school's board of trustees in January, will teach students advanced interior joinery, engine installation, and water system and electrical system skills. First-year students learn the basic skill of boat building, including joinery, lofting, and working with hand tools.

Graduate Jeremy LaBore was selected by his classmates to speak on their behalf at the graduation ceremony and luncheon. He likened the skills that he and fellow classmates learned over the last nine months to basic building skills he feels America has moved away from in the last several decades.

"We're a country that is increasingly become defined by Wall Street financial transactions and loose ideals with questionable deal values . We aren't a nation that builds things anymore," he said. "I'm not going to try to tell you that any of us are going to change any of that, but it just might help that the eight of us graduating here today will be a part of something that this country needs right now more than it probably needs another stimulus payment or another bailout. It is my hope that each of us will be a part of the renewal of America."

He thanked instructors Pat Mahon and Adam Burks for all that he has learned in the last nine months as well as Mr. Lesh and the school's business manager, Michelle Fiering, for their continuous support and encouragement. He also recognized the bond he formed with his classmates.

"Each of us came to this school for our own individual reasons, but we were united in our common desire to learn the craft of boat building. I think we've been given the foundation that each of us can take and build upon in the future, whether that be in the professional world or just messing around with boats," he said. "I thank all of you for our time together and I wish you the utmost success in the future."

Graduating students are Paul Aghababian, Chris Eastman, Will Hobson, Ryan Kasik, Jeremy La- Bore, Keith Ransom, Terry Repp, and KJ Scarpace.

Along with their certificates of completion, students were given a one-year subscription to Boat Builder Magazine, which instructor Mr. Mahon said is "a great resource for your continuing education."

Following the graduation ceremony, a Zimmer electric launch boat built by the first two classes of students over the last two years was launched into the waters of Cedarville Bay near the school's facility on Meridian Road. The boat is a wooden sailboat featuring an electric motor donated by Elco Electric launch of Athens, New York.