Brennan Peters awarded Journeyman of the Year Award

Penn-Co carpenter garners provincial award
The Carillon

A 26-year-old tradesperson who is already a decade into his carpentry career won a provincial award Nov. 2, capping off a banner year that saw him become a certified journeyperson and a father too.

Brennen Peters was named rural journeyperson of the year at the 16th annual Apprenticeship Awards of Distinction.

A call for nominations earlier this year resulted in a longlist of 24 nominees. Peters said knew going into the gala he was one of six finalists in the rural category.

“To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to win,” he said in an interview in La Broquerie, where he is hard at work on a major addition to St Joachim School.

“I’m very grateful for the award.”

The Apprenticeship Awards of Distinction celebrate outstanding contributions by Manitoba employers, instructors, and journeypersons who raise the public profile of apprenticeship and skilled trades certification in Manitoba.

Apprenticeship Manitoba and the Apprenticeship and Certification Board organize the awards gala, which coincides with Apprenticeship Recognition Week.

Recipients are selected by a committee comprised of Apprenticeship and Certification Board members and Apprenticeship Manitoba staff.

Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration Minister Jon Reyes said Manitoba’s tradespeople are role models for those looking for interesting career options that also strengthen the Manitoba economy.

Peters said he grew up in a construction-oriented family the RM of La Broquerie. He recalled childhood devoted to “countless hours of LEGO.”

“I’ve always loved building stuff,” he said.

His interest in the skilled trades was evident even before he graduated from Ste Anne Collegiate, where he participated in the school’s apprenticeship program.

By age 16, Peters was joining his father on out-of-town construction trips.

Peters joined Blumenort-based Penn-Co Construction on a part-time basis in 2012, moving to full-time employment in 2014. He said the company’s human resources department nominated him for the award.

Although just 26, Peters has already worked on several major commercial construction projects in the Steinbach area, including SCU headquarters, the expansion of Steinbach City Hall, and two renovations of Bethesda Regional Health Centre.

When he isn’t on the jobsite, Peters likes to hunt. He also enjoys spending time with his seven-month-old, who arrived two days before Peters passed his journeyperson exams.

Congratulations to Brennan Peters, recipient of the Journeyman of the Year Award!

Bren Peters, is the son of Karin (Kehler) & Menno Peters, and the grandson of Benjamin & Martha Kehler, Steinbach, MB.