December 15, 2003

Boise State Welding Instructor Earns National Recognition

Editor’s note: This news release includes updated information from the national American Welding Society regarding the title of the award for which Juan Martinez was nominated. A Boise State University welding instructor will be honored nationally for the work he did alongside some Boise State University students and at-risk youth from Canyon County. Juan Martinez has been nominated for the Image of Welding educator award. Nominees have demonstrated efforts to help advance the image of the welding industry. Martinez has been invited — along with the students — to attend the American Welding Society national convention in Chicago in April, where the winner will be announced. “This is an honor and a great opportunity for us to showcase the diversity of our students and to help break down the stigmas that are sometimes attached to Idaho,” Martinez said. Martinez and the students also have been asked to create a piece of metal art for the national convention and present it to Jessie James, welding icon and star of the cable television hit “Monster Garage,” or to the city of Chicago where it will be displayed as public art. James has inspired a new generation of metal fabricators, Martinez said, and is highly respected for his craftsmanship and innovation. Martinez worked with local school districts and the Boys and Girls Club of Nampa to identify students to help with the Building Bridges Community Art Project. The culmination was a metal archway sculpture that was installed at Indian Creek in Pioneer Park in Caldwell last summer. The project was funded by the Idaho Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts and managed by Caldwell Fine Arts and the Hispanic Cultural Center of Idaho. Martinez, a welding artist, uses steel to re-create Aztec and Mayan symbols that are part of his heritage. -30- Contact Juan Martinez Boise State Selland College of Applied Technology 426-1732 jmartinez@boisestate.edu Media Contact Sherry Squires Boise State communications and marketing 426-1563 ssquires@boisestate.edu