MEXICO — Peter Barlow was shocked when his name was called as the Career and Technical Education teacher of the year at last week’s annual awards ceremony at the Lewiston Regional Vocational Center.

“I didn’t even know I had been nominated,” said Barlow, 47. “I’m sure I turned red. It took me quite a while for it to sink in for what had just happened.”

Barlow, a Hanover native and metal trades instructor at the Region 9 School of Applied Technology for 21 years, had a large “cheering” section when he walked to the stage to receive the plaque. All of his fellow teachers attended the ceremony.

Barlow and Region 9 were chosen from 27 secondary vocational schools statewide.

He was one of three finalists. The others were Stan Sluzenski, a building trades instructor in Calais/St. Croix, and Bill Houston, an outdoor leadership instructor at the Somerset Career and Technical Center in Skowhegan.

Barlow graduated from Rumford High School and Central Maine Vocational Technical Institute, which is now Central Maine Community College. He worked at Boise Cascade in the machine shop and for Maine Machine Products in Paris.

One of his greatest inspirations for entering the metal trades field was Dave Thompson, a teacher he had in high school who held the metal trades position for 17 years before Barlow started teaching at Region 9.

“He saw that I was teaching other students when I was a student,” Barlow said. So when Thompson decided to retire, he called Barlow to ask him if he’d like to apply for the position.

“I never thought I’d set foot in a school again when I got out,” he said with a laugh. “But it’s worked out well. I enjoy coming to work every day and seeing the students become successful.

“They often come back and show me what they’ve been doing, or bring in their families. They’ve got a good job and are successful,” he said.

Barlow enjoys the challenge of finding some area of interest in a student that will motivate him to do well.

“It’s different for everyone finding their interest so we can relate it to metal-working. For some, it’s their ATVs and others, hunting,” he said.

Over the years, he has taught 15 or 16 girls. Several have gone on to study the metal trades at a community college. One, at least, is in a boilermakers union.

Even if a student doesn’t pursue a career in the metal trades, he said, they can learn many skills they can use in other careers, or just in life, such as blueprint reading, mounting engines and repairing machinery. The course teaches problem-solving skills by requiring extensive planning before a machine is set to metal.

Some of Barlow’s interest in the trade may have come from his father. Homer Barlow was a longtime maintenance employee for Rumford Falls Power Co.

“I learned a lot from him,” Barlow said.

Barlow, and his wife, Jennifer, who is an employability skills instructor at Region 9, are the parents of four adult sons ages 23 to 26. All are working in the mechanical field.

Barlow and his family and friends celebrated the award Friday night by camping out along the Androscoggin River.

Region 9 director Brenda Gammon said the staff and board will celebrate Barlow’s award sometime next month.