Dozer Day is growing up.
What began nearly 20 years ago as a fun weekend event for elementary-age kids to try out construction equipment evolved into a career fair program run by the Nutter Family Foundation that provides hands-on opportunities for high school students to test-drive real construction equipment.
Now, the National Utility Contractors Association has acquired the rights to Dozer Day with plans to hold events in Springfield, Neb., Hendersonville, Tenn., and Kansas City this fall, as well as several more in 2025.
The most recent Dozer Day in Clark County was held in October in Ridgefield, which saw over 15,000 visitors, according to the Nutter Foundation. The event also drew 500 teenagers interested in trades careers who had the opportunity to learn from more than 30 construction companies.
Dozer Day events have been held in Seattle and Yakima in 2024.
However, the acquisition will allow Dozer Day events to be held more often and on a larger scale, Nutter Foundation President Renee Nutter said Monday.
“(The National Utility Contractors Association) is a large organization, whereas our foundation is quite small,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of people who want these events in other communities, but we don’t have the manpower to help them all. This will help do that.”
The Clark County Parks Foundation held the first Dozer Day in 2005; Nutter took over in 2008. After a few years of running the program, Nutter said she recognized the fun event could be reimagined as a way to establish a workforce development pipeline, helping students learn about career pathways in their community other than college. The shift happened at the same time public schools once again embraced trades as important post-secondary opportunities.
“We find that focusing on education there are three kinds of learners: audio, visual and hands-on learners. In this industry, a lot of those learners are hands-on learners,” Nutter said. “So, they’ll come to Dozer Day without even realizing that and start thinking, ‘Hey, this could be a career for me.’”
“The Nutter Foundation’s Renee Nutter has been the driving force behind these exciting events, and her support of our industry and our employees today and for the future has been inspirational,” Doug Carlson, CEO of the National Utility Contractors Association, said in a news release Monday. “Our new partnership will lead into our industry’s future.”
Shifts in education
The acquisition joins other recent investments in trades education in Clark County: Evergreen High School’s new Skilled Trades Center, Hudson’s Bay High School’s Endeavour Technical Trades Building and the soon-to-be-finished Clark College Advanced Manufacturing Center in Ridgefield.
Leaders from school districts and construction companies have made it clear that supporting investments in trades education will not only provide students a better understanding of career paths, but will help alleviate labor shortages.
On the horizon lies a major construction project sure to require hundreds of Clark County workers in the trades: the Interstate 5 Bridge replacement.
“That bridge will take up a lot of our folks working in the trades. That’s why reaching out to our youth right now is pivotal,” said Bart Hansen, executive director of the Building Industry Association of Clark County.
Nutter said she is excited for the acquisition not just because it will expand Dozer Day’s sphere of influence across the country, but because it will allow her team to refocus on engaging students in Clark County while a larger organization takes over expansion.
The next Clark County Dozer Day will be Oct. 5-6 at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds.
“There are so many great opportunities,” Nutter said. “If we don’t capture these young adults now, we’re going to have problems.”
