At right: First-year welding student Jasen Widrid, from the Holley School District, works on the new steel booth that his class made for the Churchville Lions Club. Below: Students demonstrate to Churchville Lions Club members how to assemble the new steel booths. From left, Nancy Steedman, Mike Morris, Carl Fisher, Jasen Widrid, Nancy Neidrauer, Ray Jackling and Rick Miller.

Students in Rick Miller's welding classes at BOCES 2 Career and Technical Education Center in Spencerport have been hard at work the past few weeks creating two new booths for the annual Churchville Lions Club Country Fair.

Miller said he noticed the old wooden structures club members were using for food and information booths while helping out at the fair last August. He volunteered his students' time to build new steel booths if the Churchville Lion's Club would supply the materials.

Partnering students with community organizations like the Lion Club can reap benefits for both sides, according to Churchville Lion and BOCES 2 Academic Support Teacher Nancy Steedman.

"It serves a couple of purposes having the kids working on a project like this," Steedman said. "The kids get to practice their skill. But it also gives them a sense of the real work world."
Steedman said this can give students a real connection to both the work world and their community, and helps them see how they belong. "They're building something real that will be used," she said. "They can come to the fair with their family and friends and say 'See, I built this.' "

About 25 students have worked on the booths. Using a blueprint, the students cut all the parts and then welded them onto the 10-by-20 foot and 10-by-10 foot booths. Lions Club members picked the booths up at the school, and will have them painted and ready to go in time for this year's fair.