Portrait of the top painting craftsman – York Daily Record

Gordon Freireich Published 8:44 a.m. ET June 14, 2021

Jody Harlacher works on the porch railing of a home in Gettysburg.(Photo: Submitted)

Jody Harlacher has more artist in him than he admits, says Zach Ausherman of Mike Ausherman Painting.

A resident of Dover, Jody has been named the Craftsman of the Year by the Painting Contractors Association, a national organization based in St. Louis. The award is officially named the L.E. Travis Jr. Craftsman of the Year, honoring a painter who excels at his work.

Jody, 61, (he proudly points out he was born at the former West Side Hospital in York) has been a professional contract painter since 1988 when he joined the Ausherman team. A 1977 graduate of the York County Vo-Tech School in carpentry and cabinetmaking, he worked for Boring Furniture, Boring Manufacturing and Yorktowne Kitchens before working with his father in his painting businesses prior to joining Ausherman.

Over the years, he has become an expert with matching paint and stain colors. His high quality work can been seen across the area, most recently in his intricate work on a large 1837 home in Gettysburg with a series of unique porches. Over the years, he has used his expertise in repainting the original Glatfelter Mansion in Spring Grove and helping to restore the former Hahn Home (now Kuhner Associates Funeral Directors) after a fire damaged the interior of the building.

Jody Harlacher, right, holds the L.E. Travis Jr. Craftsman of the Year award presented by the national Painting Contractors Association. At left is Zach Ausherman, of Mike Ausherman Painting, who nominated Jody for the award.(Photo: Submitted)

Jody, who decided to go part-time as a painter on May 1, says his knowledge comes from experience and training classes he has taken over the years.

In nominating Jody for the award, Zach Ausherman, who refers to himself as the companys Chief Vision Officer, wrote: A notable interior project was a large three story stairwell in a one hundred-year-old home.

He went on to praise Jodys technique with stains. With stain, the talent is in blending stains to match the existing. A few times a year, well have stain projects where the substrate causes lighter or darker spots. Jody has the ability to modify the stain to darken or lighten those spots.

When it comes to paints, Jody has the ability to manipulate paint to match colors by adding pigments. A few times a year, hell add white, amber or others needed to make the paint color needed for that project. Indeed, that is what he did on the Gettysburg house project.

Jody Harlacher also shares his knowledge with other members of the Ausherman painting crews. Each spring he runs our ladder safety program for the company, Zach Ausherman writes. He is adamant about cleanliness and keeping things in order as well as making sure he and his crew are wearing proper PPE for dust and paint particles; from dust masks to properly fitting respirators.

Now that he has reduced his schedule to part-time, Jody says he will have time to work on family projects for his son, two daughters, and his wife, Brenda.

And, oh yes, time for fishing, a favorite activity

Ausherman Painting has 18 employees with a market area including York and Adams Counties, as well as Mechanicsburg and Camp Hill.

Jody Harlacher is proud of his York County roots and York County can be proud of Jody Harlacher and his brush with fame as the painting craftsman of the year.

Gordon Freireich is a former editor of the York Sunday News.Email:gordonaf2805@gmail.com.

Read or Share this story: https://www.ydr.com/story/opinion/2021/06/14/portrait-top-painting-craftsman/7682567002/

Read more here:
Portrait of the top painting craftsman - York Daily Record