Matthew Hilliar
I am a first year instructor for the York Electrical Institute apprenticeship program and have been a proud member of IBEW Local 229 since 2009. After being Honorably Discharged from the U.S.M.C. in 2003, I attended Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. I completed my Associates Degree for HVAC/R in 2005. While attending school and beyond, I worked for several electrical contractors as an apprentice. I completed my apprenticeship with IBEW Local 229 in 2012. I am currently employed as a foreman with I.B. Abel Inc. I continue my education with journeyman classes through the electrical training ALLIANCE and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA).
Courses: National Electrical Code, Conduit Fabrication, Orientation, Blueprints 1, Job Information
Bruce Brown
I am the second year instructor for our apprenticeship program. I have worked on many projects as a journeyman wireman. Most recently have been for E.L. Heim at memorial Hospital and for Chicago Bridge and Iron at Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant in Delta, PA. Within the IBEW, I have held two different offices, which included two terms as a member of the Examining Board and one term as the Vice President. I have also served in various capacities for on our Credit Union board. Right after high school, I began my career in the electrical trades landing my first job doing residential work. I started as a first-year apprentice with Local 229 in 1983, completed the apprenticeship in 1987 and now have approximately 33-years in the trade. In 1988, I began teaching first-year apprentices and continued in that role until 2004. From 2004 through 2011, I served as the program’s Training Director. Since then, I have been teaching our second-year apprentices. From the time I began in the trade to present day, I have kept up with the current practices, including graduating from Williamsport Area Community College, where I majored in Electrical Construction in 1982. I continue to take various Safety, National Electrical Code and Theory, and Labor Management classes.
Courses: Test Instruments, National Electrical Code, AC Theory, Blueprints, Electrical Safety, Transformers, Craft Certification Proctor
Joel Kauffman
I am the fourth-year instructor for the inside wireman apprenticeship. Born and raised in York County, I was accepted into Local 229 as an apprentice in 1999 and I completed the program in 2004. Since then I have worked as an inside wireman in several different roles, performing a wide variety of tasks. I completed the four-year National Training Institute instructor-training program in 2015. I have participated in JATC journeyman training courses in the subjects of OSHA 10, Foreman Training, Solar/Photovoltaic, Job Steward and NEC code changes. I also took classes in Fall Protection, Forklift Training, MSHA, NFPA70 and others. For the past three years, I have been an instructor with the JATC. From the time I was an apprentice, I was interested in teaching, so when the chance came along, I was grateful for the opportunity. This apprenticeship program puts out the best-trained electricians and electrical workers in the industry and I want to be a part of it.
Courses: Building Automation, Programmable Logic Controllers, Lighting Essentials, Motors, Motor Controls, AC Theory, Grounding & Bonding, Code Calculations, Blueprints
John Craig
I began teaching Structured Cabling in 2018. I began my career in the VDV trade in 2010 and progressed from an apprentice to a foreman rather quickly. I worked on many projects for the Communications division of IB Abel over the years. I restructured the data and fiber systems for the RH Shepherd campus in Hanover; built the network for both the office building and the lab for JCI in Shrewsbury; and worked with many outstanding leaders on multiple other projects. I want to be an instructor because I feel I can impart a working knowledge of my trade to the apprentices, and I possess the desire to share what I have learned and experienced to others. The best advice I can give to any student is to learn everything you can, from any source available, and put it to use. Our Union is only as good as our weakest person. To compete, we must be the best.
Courses: Structured Cabling, Fiber Optics
Tony Weaver
Courses: Commercial and Industrial Blueprints
Corey Mensinger
Courses: Rigging & Lifting, Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices, NFPA 70E, OSHA 30
Michael Simon
I am a journeyman electrician for IBEW Local 229. I started the trade in 2003 with a residential contractor and quickly became interested in the trade. In 2005, I began training at Triangle Tech in Sunbury, PA. Here, I learned new skills that would help me advance my career. After completing the program, I began to focus on commercial and industrial projects and quickly became a foreman. Recent projects include retail spaces, restaurants, hotels, and manufacturing facilities. I became proficient in installing Fire Alarm Systems at these facilities as well. I am currently a Craft Certification Exam Proctor and pursuing further education through the National Training Institute in Ann Arbor, MI.
Courses: Fire Alarm Systems, Preparing for Leadership
Shaun Linden
I am a 1997 graduate of William Penn High School in York, PA and a 2005 graduate of the 3-year telecommunications apprenticeship at IBEW Local 229. I began instructing in 2017. During my career, I have held various leadership positions on projects including multi-story office buildings, schools, and warehouses. I am currently pusuing instructor training at the National Training Institute in Ann Arbor, MI. In addition to my technical career, I am Vice President of my community’s Home Owners Association and a PIAA basketball official.
Courses: Access Control, Intrusion Detection
Christopher LaCroix
I have been in the construction industry my entire working career. I spent many years building houses including everything from footers to the final touches before the owner moved in. When the housing market fell, I decided to focus on learning to wire houses. As my knowledge grew, I moved into commercial work. After five years, I decided to join the IBEW which greatly impacted my working career and personal life. I completed the Inside Wireman apprenticeship program in 2015 and became an instructor in 2017. I enjoy the opportunity to grow professionally while guiding apprentices. I am also a member of the IBEW Local 229 Executive Board.
Courses: National Electrical Code, Lighting Essentials, Torque, Distributed Generation, Power Quality, Health Care Systems
Scott Brenneman
I am the Youth Program Director at the York Electrical Institute tasked with recruiting young people to look at the trades as an option other than college. I am also the instructor for the youth pre-apprenticeship Boot Camp and administrator of the Interim Credentials class.
I have 35 years in the trade starting in a non-union shop. I completed my apprenticeship in 1988. In 2001 I applied to the IBEW and successfully passed the Journeyman/Wireman written test and interviewed at an oral board. Throughout my career I have participated in continuing education in safety, data networking, PLC programming, supervision and have worked my way up the ranks as Journeyman through electrical supervisor. The environments and facilities that I have experience in are medical, educational, industrial, nuclear to name a few.
I have also served on the IBEW Local 229 Federal Credit Union Board and am currently serving on the Local 229 Examining Board. This past summer I completed my first of four years of the National Training Institute’s Instructor Training Program held at the University of Michigan.
Courses: Youth Boot Camp, Adult Pre-Apprenticeship, Interim Credentials
Derek Markey
I am a 2007 graduate of the IBEW Local 229 Inside Wireman apprenticeship program. I have spent most of my career at I.B. Abel, Inc. and am currently serving as a foreman on various projects. I decided to teach because I want to be active in the local union and help where I can. I have enjoyed my years of teaching and hope to continue for years to come. I have a wife and two young girls. So, I don’t have much free time. But, the free time I do have, I enjoy spending with family and hunting.
Courses: Torque, DC Theory
Jon Keen
I began teaching National Electrical Code for the York Electrical Institute in 2018. I have been a member of I.B.E.W. Local 229 since 2018. I graduated from the H.C.E.C.A. apprenticeship program in 2006 and in 2009 became a Master Electrician for Harford County MD and a qualified agent for the State of Maryland as a Master Electrician. I have spent the years working on various types of electrical projects in supervisor roles. I received my first opportunity to teach for the York Electrical Institute as a Substitute in 2018. I look forward to the opportunity to share my knowledge of the electrical code and help new apprentices find the information us full in their everyday electrical work that is needed to pass local inspections governed by the NEC.
Courses: National Electrical Code
