3 public high school skilled trades teachers—a precision manufacturing teacher from Arizona, a landscape operations teacher from Florida and a welding instructor from Missouri—are first-place winners of the 2019 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence.

The first-place winners are Cesar Gutierrez, a precision manufacturing teacher at Desert View High School in Tucson, Arizona; Wendy Schepman, a landscape operations teacher at South Fork High School in Stuart, Florida; and Brent Trankler, a welding teacher at Sikeston Career and Technology Center (SCTC) in Sikeston, Missouri.

They and their schools, along with 15 second-place winners and their schools, will receive more than $1 million in prizes.

Gutierrez, Schepman and Trankler were each surprised in their classrooms by representatives for Harbor Freight Tools for Schools with the news that they and their schools will receive $100,000—$70,000 for the high school skilled trades program and $30,000 to the teacher.

“Skilled trades educators are crucial to helping students stay engaged and motivated in high school,” said Danny Corwin, executive director of Harbor Freight Tools for Schools. “These amazing teachers connect students to promising careers, show them how to apply academics to the real world and help them feel pride and accomplishment—something they might not experience in all their classes. We make these awards because we believe in these teachers, we believe in these students, and we believe this vital sector deserves more support and investment.”

Each of the 15 second-place winners across the country were also surprised with the news that they and their schools will receive $50,000. In addition to the more than $1 million in first- and second-place prizes awarded by Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, the company Harbor Freight Tools donated $32,000 to 32 semifinalists.

The Prize for Teaching Excellence was started in 2017 by Harbor Freight Tools Founder Eric Smidt to recognize extraordinary public high school skilled trades teachers and programs with a proven track record of dedication and performance. Prizes are awarded by Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, a program of The Smidt Foundation.

Brent Trankler, a U.S. Army veteran, has taught welding at SCTC since 2009. A model of lifelong learning for his students, Trankler has earned two bachelor’s degrees and two master’s degrees, along with becoming a National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) Welding Technology Subject Matter Expert. Trankler boosts his students’ confidence and pushes their limits by taking on large projects and allowing them to experiment, problem-solve and learn from mistakes. Each year, his students volunteer to help approximately 250 Boy Scouts earn their welding and metal works badges. Upon graduation, almost all Trankler’s students pursue post-secondary education or receive job offers from businesses like Manac—the largest manufacturer of custom-built and specialty semitrailers in North America. Trankler was a semifinalist for the 2018 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence.