Sims wins prestigious C. Michael Watson Award

Published 10:36 am Monday, September 26, 2022

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A Unaka High School student recently won the prestigious C. Michael Watson Award at the Appalachian Fair for 2022.
Gracie Sims competed in the Custom Painting FDHP category for Collision Repair at the Appalachian Fair for 2022. Gracie was awarded a 1st place ribbon for that category along with being chosen as the 1st place winner for the C. Michael Watson Award.
The C. Michael Watson Award is the best overall award for all projects submitted in the CTE category. She was awarded $100 from the Northeast TN Technical Educational Alliance (NTTEA) to help with her future contests.
Sims initially completed this project for the Top Wrench competition last fall. The project was the restoration of a 1960s pedal car. The custom paint job was done with metal flake and various candy translucent paints.
Sims spent approximately 90 hours of work time in the shop on the paint job alone. The project was awarded 1st place in the Custom Paint category.
As a result, she was awarded a $7500 scholarship to Lincoln Technical College in Nashville, if she chooses to attend there upon her high school graduation.
Sims is a student of UHS Collision Repair/Automotive Instructor Scotty Johnson.

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