LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. — Klein Tools recently announced John Kinney from Woburn, Massachusetts, as the winner of its annual Electrician of the Year award. As the 2020 grand prize winner, Klein Tools awarded Kinney a check for $1,000 cash and $1,000 in Klein Tools products to help support and grow his company, Kinney Electric.
After sorting through hundreds of nominations, a panel of Klein Tools employees, as well as members of the Klein family, worked to narrow down the nominees to six regional winners from various parts of the country, and then from those six chose Kinney as the national winner. The panel looked not only at the electricians’ continued excellence in their field, but also their focus on personal safety as well as safety of those around them, and their dedication to supporting their local communities.
“We are proud to present John Kinney as the 2020 Electrician of the Year,” says Greg Palese, vice president of marketing at Klein Tools. “This year, we reviewed hundreds of applications from talented electricians from across the country. John stood out to us not only for his skill as an electrician, but for his continued dedication to his community. This past year, John received a call from a woman in his neighborhood, Gloria Scott, looking for repairs on damaged light fixture. As John was doing repairs at Gloria’s home, he noticed her home was run down, with extensive repairs needed both inside and outside. John was inspired to help Gloria and offered to do the necessary repairs for her free of charge. John reached out to friends on Facebook, explaining the situation and was able to get dozens of volunteers to come help make repairs. Over the following month, John was able to raise over $111,000 to help repair and renovate Gloria’s home, inspiring his community and communities around the world. After the success of this project, John decided to start a program called Gloria’s Gladiators, aimed at helping those in his community who were in need of home repair and didn’t have the means to afford it, similar to Gloria. This inspirational story made international news, encouraging other trade professionals across the world to start similar programs to help out in their own communities.”
Klein Tools also congratulates the 2020 Electrician of the Year runners-up: Dillon Schoenberg, Richard Harrahill, Raymundo Orozco, Hazen Ring and Ryan Trent. All finalists won the 2020 Thank You Prize Pack, which includes $1300 worth of Klein Tools products to help them continue to grow their businesses and help their respective communities.
For more information on the Electrician of the Year award and all winners, please visit www.kleintools.com/eoy.