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Student Officers Getting Assignments

August 15th, 2010

We had a great time with the 15 national officers on July 22-29. Some of them said they didn’t want to go home because they were having such a good time here. There was lots of bonding and growth among the students. And, they’ve already left their mark on the National Leadership Center—they planted a dogwood tree in commemoration of their time here and the upcoming work of their team. Before the end of training, the officers elected Ariel Padilla (Texas) as the chair of the Joint Executive Council (JEC) and he will be the national officers’ representative to the board of directors. Loree Hayden (Ill.) was elected vice chair of the JEC representing college/postsecondary and Janie Martinez (Texas) was elected secretary of the JEC and is representing the high school division.

We’ll be testing their training soon. Two officers will be accompanying me on their first Goodwill Tour at the end of August when we go to Winston Salem, N.C. for a Lowe’s vendor luncheon. Also, Katie Grimnes (Wash.) and Ricky Jordan (Mass.) will be the officers speaking at Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon during the Washington Leadership Training Institute.

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Cooking Up Culinary Connections in California

August 15th, 2010

The week of August 6, I participated in the American Culinary Federation (ACF) National Convention in Anaheim. I was a VIP guest of ACF President Chef Michael Ty who has attended the SkillsUSA NLSC for the past two years. He is very interested in engaging with SkillsUSA as a part of ACF’s youth initiatives.

The ACF Convention offered an excellent networking opportunity. I spent time with several SkillsUSA culinary instructors who are also professional members of ACF. I met several ACF partnering companies that could be SkillsUSA supporters and spent quality time with international culinary representatives from Canada, Iceland and Germany, and I had an excellent exchange with the leader of the World Association of Chefs.

A highlight was the time I spent with Dr. Janey Thornton, deputy under secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services discussing USDA’s interest in our culinary programs and a national campaign on childhood nutrition. At the President’s Ball on Thursday night, I also met with ACF’s executive director to compare notes on nonprofit association management. We will be working together and sharing best practices. Finally, as a bonus, Greg Rintala, YDF Chair and board member from Snap-on, Inc. took me to lunch on Thursday, and we had a good conversation about our partnership and the upcoming board and YDF meetings.

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Highlights

August 15th, 2010
  • On July 30, staff directors held an off-site retreat just across the river in Maryland to prepare for activities beginning this fall with particular emphasis on membership and marketing. We began with a Vision 2020 discussion and moved through funding priorities, the CEO Champion of the Year initiative and SkillsUSA WorldTeam. We’ve got a good management team with lots of ideas.
  • The State Association Director Annual Professional Development and Training Conference was just held in Herndon, Va. on August 10-15. New state association directors arrived on Tuesday, August 10, and began their training that evening. Experienced directors arrived on August 11. They had a packed schedule with lots of best practice sessions on association management. We had seven new directors attending, and 41 directors and assistant directors in all, and 34 state associations were represented.
  • We recently held a meeting at the center with E-Group to compare notes on the SkillsUSA Store at conference and to prepare for this coming fall. There have also been lots of meetings preparing for the Washington Leadership Training Institute.

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SkillsUSA Alumni Membership

August 15th, 2010

SkillsUSA is closing out the FY10 fiscal year and one of our important goals this year has been to grow our Alumni membership. SkillsUSA Alumni membership is free and it is open to anyone. Registered members get electronic newsletters, the online version of the magazine and other communications on a regular basis. Alumni membership is also open to your business partners, to your contest committees, judges or anyone else within your state organization. We do not sell our list or use it for any other purpose. Please help us by forwarding this message, by asking students who graduated to become SkillsUSA Alumni members, and by posting a link to the alumni join page on your state Web site.

To join Alumni, go to: www.skillsusa.org/supporters/alumnijoin.shtml.

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2010-11 Membership Kits

August 15th, 2010

The 2010-11 SkillsUSA membership kits have been mailed to all chapters that affiliated with SkillsUSA last year. Extra kits will be mailed to all state offices soon. The kit includes enrollment instructions, programs, scholarship and recognition opportunities, membership cards, a recruitment poster, a SkillsUSA Creed poster, an affiliation sticker and fliers on the Work Force Ready System and new products. The kit also includes the 2011 SkillsUSA Championships overview flier. This year’s membership incentive is a SkillsUSA DVD for all chapters that register 20 or more students plus one professional, by the November 15 full services deadline.

Membership materials are posted online at www.skillsusa.org/join/ and states are welcome to post these materials or link to them on our site. If you need more membership kits, call 800-321-8422 or e-mail Roxanne Hodge at rhodge@skillsusa.org.

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Work Force Ready System Web Updates

August 15th, 2010

SkillsUSA has completed updating the Work Force Ready System website making it more user friendly when searching for assessment links and information.  . The user can now launch off the HOME page clicking on a button under “Assessment Links” instead of going through the “Purchase Assessment” screens to order a free preview for an instructor or administrator. Pricing for SkillsUSA members has changed to $10 per assessment. The non-member price remains the same at $20. All previous URLs remain the same even though they may be under a different tab name with the exception of the free instructor preview.

We also reviewed all the customer documentation posted on the Web site and updated it as needed to reflect recent changes and clarity. Listed below are the popular documents that have been updated for the new school year. If you have printed copies of any of the following, please replace them with the current information posted on the Web site:

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Reminder: Washington Leadership Training Institute September 18-22, 2010

August 15th, 2010

The Washington Leadership Training Institute (WLTI), a five-day advanced leadership program for students and advisors, will be held September 18-22, 2010 at the Hilton Washington Dulles Airport near the SkillsUSA National Leadership Center and Washington, D.C. Students who are interested must apply and be accepted through their respective state director’s office and have state approval prior to registering. Student sessions focus on how an individual can affect change: The impact of the individual as a leader, citizen and employee; learning advocacy skills and strategies, and participation in Congressional visits “on the Hill” are the culminating activities of the Institute.

Advisors will have a separate training track centered on becoming an advocate for career and technical education. WLTI forms are available online at www.skillsusa.org/events/wlti.shtml. Please contact the national office (1-800-321-8422) if you wish to have WLTI forms mailed/faxed to you. Questions about the application process can be directed to Deborah Kenn Tripp at 1-800-321-8422, Ext. 637.

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Great Group of Student Officers

August 1st, 2010

The national officer team was here in Reston, Va. and they were very excited. They had a challenging week’s worth of training but they were up to it. Trainers had the students up and at it by 7 a.m. every morning and straight through the day. The team was here at the National Leadership Center on the 29th for a meeting and lunch with the entire staff. This is a diverse group of students and they became a cohesive team by the end of the week.

Great Group of Student Officers

The 2010-11 National Officer team along with the SkillsUSA National Staff.

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Solid California Board in Place

August 1st, 2010

On July 15 I arrived in California for two days of meetings with the new board of directors. We began with a day of board training and then moved into the preparation of the strategic plan on the second day. Four of our national partners – Toyota, Snap-on, State Farm and Lowe’s – have representatives on the California board of directors. It looks to me as though the association now has the leadership and resources it needs to grow SkillsUSA California.

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First SkillsUSA University in Georgia and Assessments Approved

August 1st, 2010

On July 18, I attended the Georgia Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Conference. I believe there were 3,000 teachers in attendance and there’s no doubt that CTE has top-level respect in Georgia. They did two “Legislator of the Year” awards, and the legislators showed up.

I did two well-received and well-attended presentations on the Work Force Ready System on the 19th. My sessions included representatives from the Georgia Department of Education. A real highlight during the conference was the announcement that the department of education has not only added the full list of Skill Connect Assessments to the state-approved list, it’s also making the resources available for the students to take them.

State association director Gayle Silvey held her first annual Georgia SkillsUSA University. Approximately 75 teachers and administrators attended and they received some great materials in addition to the training.

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