Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16VIP Welding Program Prepares this Pipefitter for His Dream Job Career Opportunities in Piping for Transitioning Veterans | Fall/Winter 2016 Brian Kirby 7 located in St. Louis, MO, has been an active participant of the United Association’s Veterans in Piping® (VIP®) Welding program since its inception. Ed Becker, Vice Presi- dent, Field Operations for Murphy in Denver, CO, said that he was involved early on when Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 58, Colorado Springs, CO, first started the program with Fort Carson. “My dad was in the military, WWII, and I just felt it was the right thing to do,” Ed said. “e work ethic is there, and I think, for the most part, this type of work is really attractive to folks transitioning out of the military. Brian Kirby has worked for us for about 16 months. He was in a fabrication shop at first and really got his hands on everything. He’s been out ‘on the job’ for several months. Everyone loves him. He is just doing great.” Murphy Company, a signatory contractor with the UA, is not as heavily into the commercial mar- ket as a lot of its competitors are in Colorado. eir niche has been industrial and specialty proj- ects. Ed said, “We do a lot of high purity work, a lot of data center work, pharmaceuticals, breweries, that sort of thing. Our welders do a lot of orbital welding, a lot of specialty pipe welding. Work in Colorado is very steady. We’ve had a great year. e breweries and pharmaceuticals are very strong here. We have a smaller division that leans more toward the commercial side. I’m a UA member who works for Murphy now in Colorado, but I came up through Local 35 in St. Louis on the plumbing side. I am very involved with the apprenticeship here in Colorado. I’m on the JATC (Joint Appren- tice Training Committee) and the MCA (Me- chanical Contractors Association) and various other labor organizations. I’m committed to mak- ing sure our apprentices succeed, and Brian is a fine example of one of our VIP graduate apprentices.” Brian Kirby was enlisted in the Army for 13 years. He graduated from the Fort Carson VIP program that is run out of Plumbers and Pipefit- ters Local 58. He said, “I first heard about the pro- gram from my wife, who saw something about it on Facebook. ere was an information session, Murphy Company, “I’m committed to making sure our apprentices succeed, and Brian is a fine example of one of our VIP graduate apprentices.” – Ed Becker