The McLeod Health Facilities Management Team of Lee Burris, Director of Construction; Mike Defee, Central Energy Plant Manager; William (Bill) Maul, Facilities Project Manager; and Woodrow McCall, Plumbing Medical Gas Manager, recently received the 2025 Harbor Freight Fellows Youth Skill Trades Summit Mentors of the Year Award at the South Carolina Youth Skilled Trades Summit held in Greenville, SC.

These four individuals serve as mentors to the participants of the Industrial Maintenance Youth Residency Program at McLeod Regional Medical Center. The Youth Residency Program is a partnership between Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative, Big Picture Learning and McLeod Health whose goal is to increase support and investment in skilled trades education through apprenticing experiences for youth. The objectives are to secure potential employment for the participating youth and to build a pipeline of skilled workers.

Octavian McKnight, a McLeod HVAC Mechanic, was also presented the 2025 Harbor Freight Junior Fellow of the Year Award. McKnight was invited to be a guest speaker at the 2025 South Carolina Youth Skilled Trades Summit offering words of encouragement to the attendees.