Owensboro native Rhett Baird has a chance at $25,000 and a spotlight in Make Magazine for his talents in woodworking.
Baird is competing in the DIY Hero online voting competition for builders, makers and creators. Baird is currently in first place in his group for the first round. Supporters can cast one free vote daily; more vote can be purchased, with the money going toward the American Lung Association.
Voting for the first round ends March 24. Votes can be cast here.
Baird has dabbled in woodworking since he was a kid. He said when most children would wake up on Saturday mornings and watch cartoons, he would spend his time making things with his hands.
“As a kid, I was interested in taking things apart and putting them back together again and what makes things work,” Baird said.
He became focused on the hobby when he signed up for Daviess County Middle School’s woodworking class. He worked on projects in his spare time and continued throughout his time in school, but he later began a career in manufacturing.
During that time, he didn’t do the work with his hands that he loved to do as a kid.
So for 21 years he worked throughout the manufacturing industry, making seats for BMW, working at the Corvette plant — but none of his jobs required him to craft wood.
When the pandemic hit and he extra time on his hands, Baird decided to craft some things for a friend. That friend had a bourbon barrel they wanted to be turned into two Bourbon Barrel Adirondack chairs. When Baird unveiled the finished product, his friend liked them so much he asked for two more.
“After that, it became a hobby and a pretty lucrative hobby. I definitely found out I enjoyed working things with my hands and knew there’s more of a future to it than my previous 21 years working in manufacturing facilities,” he said.
Now living in Northern Kentucky, Baird has transitioned to a small full-time woodworker who runs his own business. He has been trying to spread his name through the bourbon clubs, distilleries, and other places.
And this is all part of a motto he’s set for himself this year: “Take all the opportunities that are in front of me.”
If he were to win the DIY Hero competition, Baird said the money would go toward building a website, taking professional photos, buying more tools, and going on a vacation with his kids.
“Hometown support would be great,” he said. “I think nearly all the skills that I learned originated from when I was a young child in Owensboro — everything is from the Daviess County School System.”
