FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Adam Kessler, Education Manager
adam@awfs.org
(323) 215-0312
LAS VEGAS − (July 20, 2019) – Nicholas Maraldo, a student at Furniture Institute of Massachusetts won the Best of Show award in the 2019 AWFS® Fresh Wood Competition after judges reviewed 42 finalist projects of from 25 different high schools and colleges in the U.S. at the 2019 AWFS®Fair in Las Vegas, Nevada. Thirty-three Fresh Wood student finalists went home with monetary prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000, along with trophies and software prizes.
2019 Fresh Wood Best of Show: Nautical Marquetry Table by Nicholas Maraldo
Maraldo was awarded an iconic sculpture made by renowned woodworker and artist Judson Beaumont, a reference to his work The Apple Cabinet, which was unveiled during the award ceremony. He received $1,000 and a KCD Software Package. He also received First Place in the Post Secondary Tables category of the competition, which included another $1,000 prize and a Certificate of Merit. The Best of Show award is sponsored by KCD Software.
2019 Fresh Wood People’s Choice: Hard Ninety by Cole Daniels
Fair attendees awarded the People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Wagner Meters, and a $750 prize to Cole Daniels at Rolla Technical Institute, for his project Hard Ninety, an originally designed shuffleboard with intricate paneling and accenting, which also won Second Place in the 2019 High School Special Theme Category: Sports and Games.
A new Bravo to Teachers award was given out, thanks to sponsor PantoRouter, who presented a well-deserving teacher they selected with a PantoRouter tool: the recipient was Joe Davis from Dale Jackson Career Center in Flower Mound, Texas. Joe’s student Kyle Hassett also won First Place in the High School “Sports and Games” Category for his poker table “The Big Slick.
Fresh Wood category sponsors were introduced in 2019, and AWFS thanks the following for their support: Next Wave Automation, Design for Production Category Sponsor; LIGNIA Wood Company Ltd, Seating Category Sponsor; and Northwest Hardwoods, Table Category Sponsor.
The Fresh Wood 2019 judging panel – consisting of Bob Barone (Precision Drive Spindles/PDS); Judson Beaumont (Straight Line Design); Scott Grove (Imagine Grove); Wendy Maruyama (Wendy Maruyama Studio) and Jim Wellever (Michigan Career & Technical Institute) – provided a variety of perspectives to the judging process.
First Place winners in each category and at each school level received a $1,000 prize, Second Place winners received $500 and Honorable Mention winners received $250. AWFS covers project shipping and the majority of travel and hotel costs to bring the students and their teachers to Las Vegas.
The biennial event, held as part of AWFS®Fair, attracted 188 entries from schools in the United States:
2019 Fresh Wood Award Winners
| Award | Category/Level | Title | Recipient | School Name |
| First Place | 2019 Special Theme: Sports and Games – High School | The Big Slick | Kyle Hassett | Dale Jackson Career Center |
| Second Place | 2019 Special Theme: Sports and Games – High School | Hard Ninety | Cole Daniels | Rolla Technical Institute |
| Second Place | Case Goods – High School | Zig Zag Corner Cabinet TV Stand | Garrett Visscher | Fremont High School |
| First Place | Case Goods – High School | Oops! I Broke It. | Kailan Weidner | Mustang High School |
| Second Place | Design for Production – High School | Riot Arts Gaming Chair | Chandler Norton | Reed-Custer High School |
| First Place | Design for Production – High School | Super Scoot | Jack Reznich | Frankfort High School |
| First Place | Open Category – High Schools | Serenity | Keaton Carter | Corner Canyon High School |
| Honorable Mention | Open Category – High Schools | Angry Fish | Maxwell Stange | Cadillac High School |
| Second Place | Open Category – High Schools | Rosetta | Braxton Zarbock | Corner Canyon High School |
| Honorable Mention | Seating – High School | The Limbert | Caidell Davis | Lincoln East High School |
| First Place | Seating – High School | L. & J.G. Stickley Prairie Chair | Logan Miller | Lincoln East High School |
| Second Place | Seating – High School | Sinking Chair | Katja Peereboom | Cedar Ridge High School |
| Second Place | Tables – High School | Zarycha Safari | Zack Holt | Mustang High School |
| Honorable Mention | Tables – High School | Honestly Elegant | Matthew Steger | Dakota High School |
| First Place | Tables – High School | Visions of Rhythm | Spencer Johnson | Corner Canyon High School |
| Second Place | 2019 Special Theme: Sports and Games – Post Secondary | Game Table | Ryan Tirrell | Brigham Young University |
| First Place | 2019 Special Theme: Sports and Games – Post Secondary | Detach | Valerie Alt | California College of the Arts |
| First Place | Case Goods – Post Secondary | Cabinet End Table | Christopher Merchant | Center for Furniture Craftsmanship |
| Second Place | Case Goods – Post Secondary | Walnut Jewelry Cabinet | Zala Ouyang | North Bennet Street School |
| Honorable Mention | Case Goods – Post Secondary | Chest of Drawers | Alexander Tolini | Haywood Community College |
| Honorable Mention | Case Goods – Post Secondary | Mt. Rockvale Vanity | Tyler Willmon | Center for Furniture Craftsmanship |
| Second Place | Design for Production – Post Secondary | Artist’s Desk | Osamu Sassa | Center for Furniture Craftsmanship |
| First Place | Design for Production – Post Secondary | 72.5 Chair | Nathan Miklo | Iowa State University |
| Second Place | Open Category – Post Secondary | Coupe de Ville Mid Century Bed | Zachary Spahr | Pittsburg State University |
| First Place | Open Category – Post Secondary | Mahogany Music Stand | Zala Ouyang | North Bennet Street School |
| Second Place | Seating – Post Secondary | Maritza’s Bench | Alexander Lohn | Center for Furniture Craftsmanship |
| First Place | Seating – Post Secondary | Coopered Daybed | Osamu Sassa | Center for Furniture Craftsmanship |
| Honorable Mention | Seating – Post Secondary | Stuffed Sapele | Sam Galliart | Pittsburg State University |
| Honorable Mention | Seating – Post Secondary | Recidivus | Scott Nelson | The Krenov School |
| First Place | Tables – Post Secondary | Nautical Marquetry Table | Nicholas Maraldo | The Furniture Institute of Massachusetts |
| Second Place | Tables – Post Secondary | Convex Desk | Christopher Merchant | Center for Furniture Craftsmanship |
| Honorable Mention | Tables – Post Secondary | Cuban Mahogany Night Stands | Joshua Sterns | The Krenov School |
| Best of Show | Nautical Marquetry Table | Nicholas Maraldo | The Furniture Institute of Massachusetts | |
| People’s Choice | Hard Ninety | Cole Daniels | Rolla Technical Institute | |
| Bravo to Teachers | Joe Davis | Dale Jackson Career Center |
AAW Turning to the Future Students Honored for Talent in Turning
Meanwhile, six students received awards and prizes in the American Association of Woodturning (AAW) Turning to the Future Competition. Thanks to the contest sponsors, the two Best of Show winners received Jet 1221SP Midi-Lathe (Woodworker’s Emporium), and category winners received cash prizes of $500 (First Place) and $100 (Second Place) and a tool set from Easy Wood Tools or Woodpeckers. Judging was completed by professional and recognized wood turners Stuart Batty and Christian Brisepierre. The Turning to the Future winners are as follows:
High School – Grand Prize
Oregon Beauty by Charlie Hamilton, Mills E Godwin High School
High School – First Place
African Diamonds by Joel Gonnerman, St. Ansgar High School
High School – Second Place
Noah Robishek for Wooden Windows, Traverse City Central
Post Secondary – Grand Prize
Joyce Kunz with Ray of Light, Brigham Young University
And Post-Secondary – First Place
Alec Ellis for Walnut Cathedral, Red Rocks Community College
Post-Secondary –Second Place:
Justin Fiaschetti for Tornado Bowl, Boston University
About AWFS®:
The full-scale international AWFS®Fair, held Wednesday – Saturday, July 17-20, 2019 in Las Vegas, has become a critical hub for international commerce in the woodworking industry. The AWFS®Fair brings together the entire home and commercial furnishings industry, including manufacturers and distributors of machinery, hardware, plastics, lumber, construction materials and other suppliers to the furniture, cabinet manufacturers and custom woodworkers. For more information on the AWFS®Fair, please visit: AWFSFair.org.