Larry Jeffus
Larry Jeffus is a welder with over 55 years of experience, and he maintains his own well-equipped welding shop. In his career he has passed many welding certification tests in a wide variety of processes, positions, and material types and thicknesses. Jeffus has provided welding and professional consulting services locally, nationally, and internationally to major corporations, small businesses, government agencies, schools, colleges, and individuals. He is a Life Member of the American Welding Society. In addition, he has over 40 years of experience as a dedicated classroom teacher and is the author of several Cengage welding publications. Prior to retiring from teaching, Jeffus taught at Eastfield College, part of the Dallas County Community College District. Today he remains very active in the welding community, especially in the field of education. He serves on several welding program technical advisory committees and has visited high school, college, and technical campuses in more than 40 states and four foreign countries, providing one-on-one help and guidance to welding instructors and students. Jeffus was selected as Outstanding Post-Secondary Technical Educator in the State of Texas by the Texas Technical Society, and he served for 12 years as a board member on the Texas Workforce Investment Council in the Texas Governor's office. He also served as a member of the Apprenticeship Project Leadership Team, helping establish apprenticeship training programs for Texas, and he has made numerous trips to Washington lobbying for vocational and technical education.
Bryan Baker
Bryan got interested in welding while taking metal shop classes in high school. This sparked a desire to learn as much about welding as possible. Upon completion of high school he enrolled in college and completed an Associate of Applied Science degree in welding technology. He has worked in various industries including aerospace, manufacturing, communications, food, and construction. He has worked in both large and small private businesses and has had his own welding business. While working in industry, he started teaching as an adjunct instructor at Eastfield College and Mountain View College. His experiences in teaching encouraged him to continue his education and complete both a Bachelor and Master degree from the University of North Texas. Bryan has been involved in developing and growing welding programs at Northeast Texas Community College and is currently the Department Chair of Welding/Industrial Trades at Tyler Junior College. Bryan has also served on the board of the East Texas Section of the American Welding Society for many years.
