DIY Network star and skilled trades advocate Jason Cameron will visit Republic Michigamme Schools this weekend to help with upgrades to the shop. Cameron, a 1988 RMS graduate, will also be the keynote commencement speaker at the school’s graduation ceremony on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Jason Cameron)

ISHPEMING — Jason Cameron has wanted to get back to the Upper Peninsula for a long time.

“There is no other place like it, the sense of community,” Cameron said. “It’s just a beautiful place to grow up.”

The popular DIY Network star who has hosted such shows as “While You Were Out,” “Man Caves,” “Sledgehammer,” and “Desperate Landscapes” will get the chance to visit for a few days this week the area that he says ignited his passion for woodworking.

Cameron will be the keynote speaker the graduation ceremony at his alma mater, Republic-Michigamme High School, on Sunday — 29 years after his own graduation.

In addition to being a DIY Network television personality, Cameron has received numerous certifications as a personal trainer specializing in strength and conditioning.

For the past 16 years he has dedicated himself to a healthy, physically fit lifestyle and as a result has worked as a fitness model and spokesman for Men’s Health Magazine, as well as appearing on the pages of Men’s Fitness, Maxim and GQ as well as gracing the cover of Muscle Media.

Cameron, a licensed home improvement contractor who is also finish carpenter, said he became interested in various aspects of woodworking after moving to the Upper Peninsula with his family from Toledo, Ohio, as a 10-year-old.

“Growing up in the U.P., you are surrounded by woods, so you spend a lot of time hunting and working outside,” Cameron said. “I acquired a passion for woodworking and always enjoyed working with my hands. When I got into the trades, I never thought that’s what I would be doing on camera.”

His father was an electrician and a roofer, so Cameron learned skills at home, but he said his interest in woodworking and other trades were further piqued by high school shop classes.

“I am not sure what I would have done had I not had the ability to learn some of those things in high school,” Cameron said. “I am a huge advocate for the revamping of the trades and the re-education of society.”

As a graduate of Northern Michigan University’s criminal justice program, Cameron values his college experience, but acknowledges that it is not for everyone.

“We don’t emphasize skilled trades,” Cameron said. “I am all for higher education, but that’s not for every kid. I think its important to give kids the opportunity to learn to work with their hands. It is an important life lesson and an important skill set.”

Cameron said he has partnered with Bosch to outfit the RMHS shop with much-needed tools and supplies to revitalize the schools skilled trades classes.

“I am helping them to revamp their shop class on Friday,” Cameron said. “Bosch came through and donated a lot of product.”

RMHS shop instructor Matthew Barbercheck said he is grateful for Cameron’s advocacy because many of the supplies and tools needed during his first year working in the Hawkshop, such as Shop-Vacs, dust mops, drill press and a Miller multi-process welder, had to be purchased using crowd funding.

“Bosch donated four jigsaws, four angle grinders, two cordless circular saws, two cordless reciprocating saws, six cordless impact drills, six cordless drills, four router tables and eight routers, eight random orbital sanders totaling a value of about $6,000,” Barbercheck said.

Barbercheck said the Bosch donation was less about charity and more about empowering the next generation of builders to fill the trades gap.

“We have limited sample budget, and we dedicated a large portion to this, so we don’t want to encourage more people to ask for donations, but we thought your story was good in supporting closing the skilled trades gap with the next generation,” a Bosch official told Barbercheck.

Barbercheck said Cameron’s visit is valuable in a variety of ways.

“I think the most important part of Jason’s visit is it will create more awareness about the importance of empowering our youth with vocational classes. These programs require support from all stakeholders: students, parents, administrators, community members, industry professionals and teachers. I am hoping his visit will remind individuals to support trades education efforts taking place in their community.”

Barbercheck’s message to donorschoose.org website is that the new tools and shop supplies have been a game-changer in his classroom.

“While, I advocate for ‘doing what you can, with what you have, where you are,’ I also advocate for having the right tools for the job,” Barbercheck said. “There is a minimum price of admission to do most things right and we weren’t quite there. Prior to your decision to support our classroom, we were with an ill-maintained joiner, table saw, and drill press from 1949-1951. We were with tools without guards and other important safety features. Operations were questionable at best. Troublesome issues with our existing equipment made any ‘structure with freedom’ style instruction almost impossible.”

Cameron’s support for the school and the classroom is sure to improve safety and morale even more, Barbercheck said.

As for his commencement speech, Cameron said he has not finished writing it, but he is certain to emphasize the value of hard work and determination.

“My whole philosophy on the values that I used to attain success is that life doesn’t owe you anything,” Cameron said. “Work ethic is very important.”

Lisa Bowers can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242. Her email address is lbowers@miningjournal.net.