Grand Opening
Russellville Carpenters & Millwrights Training Center
340 North Shamrock Boulevard, Russellville, AR 72802
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The Arkansas-Oklahoma Carpenters Apprenticeship & Training Trust Fund announces a Grand Opening Celebration of its new multi-million-dollar training facility on Wednesday, September 27 beginning at 4 p.m.
Event Timeline:
4:00 p.m. Opening Ceremony
4:15 p.m. Building Dedicated to Labor Leader & Arkansas native Dennis Donahou
4:30 p.m. Arkansas Secretary of Labor and Licensing Daryl Bassett remarks
4:35 p.m. Russellville Mayor Fred Teague remarks
4:45 p.m. Ribbon Cutting, led by the Russellville Chamber of Commerce
5:00 p.m. Open House, Tours of the Facility, and Commerce & Connections
6:00 p.m. Conclude
About the Facility
35,000-square-foot structure.
More than three times the size of the former Center.
Offers more classrooms with state-of-the-art technology, more training space, and larger outdoor training areas.
Carpenters and millwrights access skill training, leadership training, and administrative support.
Apprenticeship and journeyman upgrade training focuses on safety, the latest industry certifications, as well as technologies, tools, installation methods, and the importance of having the right attitude and being productive on the job.
The curriculum is provided by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) International Training Fund, which has trained carpenters and millwrights for over 140 years. The UBC spends more than $250 million annually to deliver skill and leadership training to its half-million apprentices and journeymen, those at this new Russellville facility.
Building Dedication: Dennis Donahou
Dennis Donahou, who was born, raised, and continues to live in Arkansas, is one of the most respected leaders of the Southern USA labor industry.
A 47-year career with the UBC started in 1976 as an apprentice. He retired earlier this year as the UBC’s Southern District Vice President, where he oversaw more than 20,000 professional carpenters and millwrights in an 11-state District, ranging from the Carolinas to Texas.
Many of Mr. Donahou’s leadership accomplishments centered on training. The most notable was implementing standardized training throughout the UBC Southern District training centers, enabling any member to access the same training at any Center throughout the 11 southern states.
Mr. Donahou had the initial vision of the Russellville Training Center and worked many years to help see it through to reality.
A tribute to Mr. Donahou hangs outside the front entrance to the Training Center and reads in part: “To show our gratitude, this building is dedicated to Dennis Donahou by the men and women who benefit every day from his hard work to bring a better quality of life to UBC carpenters and millwrights throughout the South.”
Mr. Donahou lives in Combs, Arkansas, with his wife, Dollie. They are the parents of two daughters, Denisa and Darcy, and their son, Derek, and have four grandchildren. The family owns and operates a cow–calf operation on two farms covering 315 acres.