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For MRC, the Manufacturers Resource Center

Event photography · Reading, PA · April 14, 2026

Inside the 2026 What's So Cool About Manufacturing Berks Schuylkill Awards

The contest hit ten years in Berks and Schuylkill counties with 33 middle school teams and about 1,000 people at the DoubleTree in Reading, and we covered the vendor expo, the program and every winning team at the step and repeat.

By Tony Ellis Martinez · TM Productions

A packed hotel ballroom seen from the back of the room, with the contest logo on screens on both sides of the stage and purple and orange balloons hanging from the ceiling
A full ballroom at the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading for the 2026 Berks Schuylkill awards.

What's So Cool About Manufacturing is the student video contest run by the Manufacturers Resource Center, where middle school teams partner with a local manufacturer, go inside the plant and make a short video about what gets made there. MRC brought the contest to Berks and Schuylkill counties ten years ago, and for the tenth season 33 middle schools took part, the public cast 176,828 votes for Viewers' Choice in three days, and about 1,000 people filled the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading for the awards on Tuesday, April 14.

We photographed the night for MRC, from the vendor expo before the show to the program in the ballroom and a step and repeat with every winning team, 299 edited photos in all. MRC had the step and repeat photos of the winners first thing the next morning, and the full gallery followed that evening.

33MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAMS
176,828VIEWERS' CHOICE VOTES
1,000PEOPLE AT THE DOUBLETREE
299EDITED PHOTOS

Before the program

The DoubleTree was decked out in the contest's purple and orange, with balloons over every sign, a WSCM 10 marquee on a red carpet for the tenth year and the clapperboard trophies lined up on a table in front of the stage. Groups kept stopping at the WSCM 10 sign for photos before the program, so we spent a lot of the early part of the night right there.

Students kneeling on a red carpet behind giant WSCM and 10 letters between gold stanchions and velvet ropes
Students at the WSCM 10 sign for the contest's tenth year in Berks and Schuylkill.
A What's So Cool About Manufacturing banner topped with purple and orange balloons
The contest banner in the DoubleTree's foyer.
A long row of black clapperboard trophies on a table in front of purple stage curtains
The clapperboard trophies waiting in front of the stage.

The vendor expo

Before the awards, manufacturers set up an expo outside the ballroom, and a lot of the companies at those tables were partnered with the schools up for awards that night, including Mrs. T's Pierogies, Hydro, Penske Racing Shocks and Glen-Gery. Students worked their way through the room collecting giveaways and talking to the people who actually make things in their county. We gave the vendor tables their own set in the gallery, 71 photos, because every manufacturer that sets up a table at an event like this wants a photo of its people and its booth afterward.

A smiling student in a red polo and lanyard reaching for a giveaway at a vendor table, with other students around him
A student at one of the vendor tables before the program.
A woman in a blue Mrs. T's shirt handing a card to a student across a table of pierogi snacks and giveaways
Handing out giveaways at the Mrs. T's Pierogies table.
Two adults and a student standing behind the Hydro table, with a screen showing Blue Mountain Middle School
The Hydro table, partnered with Blue Mountain Middle School.
Two people behind a Penske Racing Shocks table covered in giveaways
The Penske Racing Shocks table.
Three people in black shirts behind a Glen-Gery table with a laptop, cups and stacks of small bricks
The Glen-Gery table.

The program

The program opened with a color guard presenting the flags, and the two hosts kept it moving from the podium for the rest of the night. When the beach balls came out over the seats, we stayed out in the aisles for the reactions, since that's the stuff the schools end up posting the next day.

Two students in dress uniforms carrying flags in front of the contest logo on a large screen
The color guard opening the program.
A host in a silver dress smiling at a podium in front of purple curtains
One of the two hosts at the podium.
A host in a tuxedo speaking at a podium in front of blue curtains
The other host at the podium.
Both hosts applauding on stage beside an American flag, with the contest logo on the screen behind them
Both hosts applauding a winning team.
A student in the crowd with his arms up as a beach ball flies over the seats
Beach balls over the crowd during the program.

2026 Berks Schuylkill winners

Here is how the 2026 Berks Schuylkill awards came out.

  • Outstanding Overall ProgramD.H.H. Lengel Middle School, featuring Mrs. T's Pierogies
  • Viewers' ChoiceBlue Mountain Middle School, featuring Hydro
  • Outstanding VideographyConrad Weiser Middle School, featuring Penske Racing Shocks
  • Outstanding EditingBoyertown Middle School West, featuring American Crane & Equipment Corporation
  • Outstanding CreativitySchuylkill Valley Middle School, featuring Glen-Gery
  • Outstanding Brand PlacementReading Northeast Middle School, featuring Sweet Street Desserts
  • Outstanding Career PathwayReading Southwest Middle School, featuring The Rose Corporation
  • Outstanding Educational ValueNorth Schuylkill Jr/Sr High School, featuring EMD Electronics
  • Best Career & Technical Education StoryFleetwood Area Middle School, featuring Omnitech Automation, Inc.
  • Outstanding Outreach PlanWilson Southern Middle School, featuring Eagle Metals, Inc.
  • Outstanding CoolPine Grove Area Middle School, featuring Blaschak Anthracite
  • Outstanding Team SpiritTwin Valley Middle School, featuring R.M. Palmer Company, LLC

MRC's Karen Buck put the anniversary this way: "Ten years ago, we expanded the What's So Cool contest to the Berks Schuylkill region. We are thrilled to celebrate another strong season marked by enthusiastic participation and incredible community support." Every winning team came off the stage and onto the step and repeat, so each school has a photo with its trophy and the contest logo behind it.

Students and their teacher at the step and repeat holding a What's So Cool About Manufacturing sign and an Our Team Is On To States sign
A winning team at the step and repeat with its On to States sign.
A team of students in black shirts cheering and holding up a contest sign at the step and repeat
A team celebrating at the step and repeat.
A large team in matching gray shirts posing with their trophy and contest signs at the step and repeat
A full team with its trophy at the step and repeat.

Delivering the gallery

We split the gallery into four sets, the highlights, the step and repeat, the vendor booths and the hosts, so MRC, the schools and the manufacturers can each go straight to their own photos without scrolling through 299 of them. The winners went out first, the morning after the show, because those are the photos the schools and MRC want to post before anything else.

Earlier · Bethlehem · March 25, 2026Inside the 2026 What's So Cool About Manufacturing Lehigh Valley Awards Later · Harrisburg · May 13, 2026Inside the 2026 What's So Cool About Manufacturing Best of PA Awards

Thanks to Karen Buck and MRC for having us in Reading, and congratulations to D.H.H. Lengel, Blue Mountain and all 33 teams.

Results, figures and quotes via MRC and WFMZ 69 News. Photos by TM Productions.