Amazing Ornaments
Student’s work featured on Capitol Tree
Submitted photos From left are Randolph County Technical Center Principal John Daniels, Mill & Cabinet instructor Jonathon Clingerman, RTC student Grace Parsons, ornaments creator Faith Nelson, and Amy Bialek-Parsons of Legacy Insurance.
These ornaments were created by Faith Nelson on equipment at the Randolph Technical Center in Elkins.
Submitted photos From left are Randolph County Technical Center Principal John Daniels, Mill & Cabinet instructor Jonathon Clingerman, RTC student Grace Parsons, ornaments creator Faith Nelson, and Amy Bialek-Parsons of Legacy Insurance.
These ornaments were created by Faith Nelson on equipment at the Randolph Technical Center in Elkins.
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ELKINS -- A Randolph County Technical Center student is being praised for the wooden ornaments she created for the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, which was harvested in Randolph County.
Faith Nelson is a fourth-level student in Mill & Cabinet at the Randolph County Technical Center in Elkins under the direction of teacher Jonathon Clingerman.
"Mr. Clingerman and Faith designed and created huge lovely wooden ornaments depicting scenes from all over the county, woodlands, building, nature, state parks, etc.," said Amy Bialek-Parsons of Legacy Insurance, a local business supporter of the project. "The ornaments were laser cut precisely and were sent with the tree to the Capitol!"
Working with Nelson, Clingerman and RTC Principal John Daniels on the project, Bialek-Parsons said she "realized that this operation could be of great value to the community."
"After seeing the ornaments, I asked Mr. Clingerman if it was possible to make them smaller so families could enjoy them on 'normal-size' Christmas trees in their home," she said.
"I was delighted to see the array of talent they had while working in the Mill and Cabinet class. Faith explained to me that they could make laser designs on wood, as well as glass or metal. Mr. Clingerman, Mr. Daniels and Faith worked with me to obtain these ornaments that are truly a work of art, and I will treasure them forever!"
Bialek-Parsons gave sets of the ornaments to Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco; 2023 Mountain State Forest Festival Queen Silvia Anna Marie Ruf; Ethan Reese, the Beverly Elementary fourth-grader who won the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree essay contest; and other notable residents.
"The recipients were truly amazed that they were done by a high school student," she said.
Bialek-Parsons reserved her highest praise for Nelson.
"Sometimes in life you meet an extraordinary person and that was the case when I met Faith Nelson," she said.
The lighting of the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, which was harvested in Randolph County, took place Nov. 28 during a ceremony on the West Front Lawn. It was then lit from dusk until 11 p.m. each evening through Jan. 1.
The tree was a 63-foot Norway spruce from the Greenbrier Ranger District in the Monongahela National Forest in Randolph County.
Reese, the essay contest winner from Beverly, switched on the lights for the 2023 Capitol Christmas Tree during the special ceremony on Nov. 28.
The tree traveled to Washington, D.C. by truck, making stops along its route, first in Elkins and then in other West Virginia communities, before arriving at the U.S. Capitol.
Senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., were on hand for the event, as was Congressional representatives Alex Mooney, R-Second District, and Carol Miller, R-First District.