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They say artists are born, not made. This
can apply to any field of endeavor. A prime example of this adage
is Keenan Lewis, a young man who is making a name for himself
in the auto body repair field.
Lewis, who is employed at Nutting Paint and Body in Miami, has
already advanced in his chosen profession enough that he will
be representing Oklahoma in the SkillsUSA-VICA national contest
this summer where he will be competing with state winners from
across the country for national honors.
Lewis,
who will be a senior next year at Welch High School, began working
at Nutting about a year and a half ago, sweeping floors and doing
clean-up. A long-time friend of the Nutting family, Lewis soon
developed an interest in the auto body repair field, an interest
which Doug Nutting and son Rick picked up on and helped develop.
They were surprised how quickly Lewis picked up the trade, and
he soon became a part of the auto body staff.
To go along with his training, Lewis enrolled in the Automotive
Collision Repair Technology program at Northeast Technology Center
under instructor Jim Harlan. This was the same program that Rick
Nutting had attended in the late 1980s. Nutting won the SkillsUSA-VICA
state title two years in a row, won the national title in 1989
and competed in the international contest in 1991. Not only did
Lewis now have the best in instruction from the classroom standpoint
and the industry standpoint, he had an insider's view of competition
and how to prepare for it.
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Keenan Lewis, right, poses with
Rick Nutting of Nutting Paint and Body. Lewis is following in
Nutting's footsteps by having won the gold medal in the SkillsUSA-VICA
state auto body repair competition, a feat Nutting accomplished
twice in the late '80s. Lewis now is eyeing the national title
that Nutting won in 1989. Both received training from Northeast
Technology Center near Afton.
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Lewis won the district auto body contest
and went on to ace the state contest last April, winning almost
$1,000 in tools and supplies, including two paint guns, some
wrenches and a DeWalt buffer. Oddly, these prizes had been provided
by B and B Auto Supply in Miami, and he was proud to be able
to go to them personally and thank them. He now will compete
this July in Kansas City for national honors.
To get him ready, Jim Harlan has arranged for him to get some
specialized training. He will be going to Denver for two days
to a Chief frame-straightening machine school and will go to
a crash course in plastic repair at OSU-Okmulgee. He has just
returned from a week-long school in Dallas learning the product
line and techniques of usage for Sikkens automotive paint products.
"Last year's national winner is from Oklahoma and he is
attending OSU-Okmulgee this year," Lewis said. "I intend
to get some pointers from him while I am there."
"Keenan is very sharp and can do anything he sets his mind
to," said Rick Nutting. "He's worked here a little
over a year and is already to the point where I was going into
the national contest after having grown up in this industry.
He is very talented and should bring home the gold."
It is obvious
that Keenan loves what he does. He worked after school at Nutting
to as late as 8 p.m., sometimes even until the wee hours of the
morning.
"I'm always here, even when I'm not on the clock,"
he said. "I've always got some kind of projects going on.
I've made this my second home."Aside from doing customer
work at the shop, he has found time to rebuild a pick-up truck
for himself and completely overhaul a Harley motorcycle.
"There's not anything on this motorcycle that I haven't
touched," he says. "I can take apart the engine and
put it back together blindfolded. My dad had the frame, and I
bought the front end. But I went over everything else, even designing,
building and painting the gas tank, oil case, side cover and
rear fender." |
Lewis and the Harley he rebuilt and customized. |
"I have no other calling other than
this one," Lewis said. "My friends wonder why, because
they don't like to get dirty. But I like working with my hands
and creating something new out of something broken. I couldn't
handle sitting at a desk and pushing a pencil all day."
posted 6/12/2002
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