Noah Johnson | Daily Press The Delta-Schoolcraft Intermediate School District (DSISD) hosted an open house on Friday for the new Daniel J. Kobasic Memorial Welding Center.

ESCANABA — On Friday, roughly 150 people converged on the Delta-Schoolcraft Intermediate School District (DSISD) campus for the unveiling of the new Daniel J. Kobasic Memorial Welding Center.

DSISD Superintendent Doug Leisenring welcomed guests and thanked everyone who made the new facility a reality.

“This is a $3.1 million project; a half million from the Kobasic foundation, 1.4 (million) in federal funds, and the other 1.2 million came from our own funding that we saved up over the years to make this happen. And without the support of the state and the increased funding that’s gone to ISDs and public schools in the last five years, none of this would have happened,” he said.

Leisenring welcomed State Representative Dave Prestin and State Senator Ed McBroom, who attended to speak to the audience.

McBroom spoke about Kobasic, saying he was a hard-working individual.

“I had some very interesting meetings with him, but we always had good conversations because he knew I came from a farm, like he did,” McBroom said.

Prestin said CTE and the trades are close to his heart and that the DSISD was one of the better ISDs he has seen.

“It warms my heart because I think we’re moving in the right direction. I think society is as well as the trades because we need that capacity. We need to start bringing an emphasis to this aspect of education,” he said.

The representatives presented the Leisenring with a plaque commemorating the facility’s opening.

“As members of the community, and the people behind this enterprise, gather to celebrate this event and express their confidence. We are proud to add our voice to commend everyone who has worked to make this day possible. In honor of his namesake, the Daniel J. Kobasic Memorial Welding Center represents a work ethic that is rare among many,” the plaque reads in part.

Daniza Stanciu, the daughter of Kobasic, spoke to attendees, saying welding is magic.

“As a child, going to the shipyard, Dad would always tell me not to look at the sparks, and as he walked up the stairs to the old office, I would, of course, turn around and stare. Welding was also at home. In every single house that my father had, he had a shop, in the garage, and a welding station. And I believe my father thought that welding was magic, too,” she said.

She told the students to always take pride in their work as it is the lifeblood of so many operations.

She closed her comments with a joke, saying, “When you leave this class, you should be able to weld anything from a broken heart to the crack of dawn.”

Finally, Director of Career and Technical Trent Bellingar thanked the attendees and everyone that made the facility possible.

Leisenring said Bellingar did 90 percent of the work on the project.

“Trent had a vision to do this; he did all the leg work,” Leisenring said.

“Thanks to Doug and both the school board for trusting me. I think they thought I was crazy, but I am,” Bellingar joked.

He added that he was thankful to the City of Escanaba for its guidance in obtaining the needed federal funding.

Before enjoying light refreshments, the Delta County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting to further commemorate the new facility.

After the event, Bellingar said he was excited and relieved to have the new center open,

“(It’s) a huge relief to have this opening and turning out as nice as it is. It’s been about a two-year process between starting to talk about a design phase, trying to get funding, and today. So it’s like, what am I going to do on Monday? I’m not sure what we’re going to do Monday, but it’s still really good to have this open for the kids,” he joked.

Leisenring said the facility is an excellent addition for the students, who will no longer have to share with another school.

“While Escanaba High School was a great partner, and that’s where our lab was located.

It wasn’t big enough. We only had 11 bays. We didn’t have room for some new equipment we wanted to buy,” he said.

After the event, Leisenring and Bellingar both said how grateful they were to everybody who contributed to the facility, including the Kobasic Foundation, Prestin, McBroom, Senator Gary Peters, and SME PRIME, among others.

“To have 150 people show up at a dedication ceremony for a welding center shows you the support we have in the community for education and the support for the trades,” Leisenring said.

He said the “sparks will fly” on April 7 when the students use the facility for the first time.