The B’laster Corp., makers of the top-selling penetrant PB B’laster, this week announced the winner of its inaugural B’laster Instructor of the Year search: Joe Mendola from Gaither High School in Tampa, Florida. 

In addition to Mendola, the Instructor of the Year, finalists were:

• Jay Abitz from Freedom High School (Freedom, Wisconsin)

• Anthony Migliorini from Northview High School (Brazil, Indiana)

• Jason Anderson from Okeechobee High School (Okeechobee, Florida)

“Joe’s deep passion for his craft and his students showed in the projects they are working on and in his efforts to connect his students to both the industry and the wider community surrounding Gaither High School,” said Randy Pindor, president and chief operating officer of B’laster. “This unique level of passion and dedication was what we were looking for in the Instructor of the Year. It was a difficult decision though because all the finalists and entrants are doing awesome work ‘outside the toolbox’ in their vocational programs. Congratulations to Joe.” 

At a celebration at Gaither High School on May 1, B’laster presented Mendola with a YETI cooler full of B’laster products for the classroom, a $1,000 donation to the school’s automotive program, a $500 Visa gift card for Mendola, and a one-of-a kind B’laster Instructor of the Year trophy.

“We are excited to continue partnering with Tomorrow’s Tech magazine to recognize exceptional automotive technology instructors at high schools, vo-tech programs and community colleges across the United States,” Pindor said. “The first-ever B’laster ‘Instructor of the Year’ was more successful than we even imagined, and we are already looking forward to doing it again next year.”