Winning a national medal at the SkillsUSA Championships is a monumental achievement. Relive the moment of glory with this DVD of the Awards Ceremony from SkillsUSA’s 2012 National Leadership and Skills Conference. This is the same footage that appeared during the live Internet stream of the event and on the big screens at Kemper Arena. Some speakers and performances have been edited for copyright reasons. The DVD includes closed captioning. To order, call 800-321-8422 or go to: www.skillsusa.org/store/dvd.html.
2012 Awards Ceremony DVD Reminder
November 15th, 20122013 American Airlines Discount Program for SkillsUSA
November 1st, 2012American Airlines continues an airline discount program for the 2013 National Leadership and Skills Conference and the 2013 Washington Leadership Training Institute. See the following for instructions:
2013 NLSC
Attendees using correct code can use the five percent discount on the lowest published fare. The discount is good for American Airlines flights into Kansas City International Airport – MCI – Kansas City, Mo. A discount agreement is valid June 16 through 30, 2013. To make airline reservations, call American Airlines at 1-800-433-1790 from anywhere in the United States or Canada and refer to your Promotion Code 1963DK or go online to www.AA.com and choose “More Flight Search Options” and insert the promotion code in the appropriate box. At this time there is no ticketing charge for reservations made and ticketed on www.AA.com. Please allow one hour for the code to be loaded for use on www.AA.com. The percentage discount can be booked online at www.AA.com for American Airlines and American Eagle flights only.
2013 WLTI
Attendees using correct code can use the five percent discount on the lowest published fare. The discount is good for American Airlines flights into Reagan National Airport (DCA-Washington, D.C.) Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI-Baltimore, Maryland) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD-Herndon, Virginia). A discount agreement is valid September 15 through 29, 2013. To make airline reservations, call American Airlines at 1-800-433-1790 from anywhere in the United States or Canada and refer to your Promotion Code 8493BC or go online to www.AA.com and choose “More Flight Search Options” and insert the promotion code in the appropriate box. At this time there is no ticketing charge for reservations made and ticketed on www.AA.com. Please allow one hour for the code to be loaded for use on www.AA.com. The percentage discount can be booked online at www.AA.com for American Airlines and American Eagle flights only.
National Conference Pin and T-shirt Competition Reminder
November 1st, 2012February 1, 2013 is the deadline for entries to the SkillsUSA National Conference Pin and T-shirt competitions. This event is open to all paid student members of SkillsUSA. This is a great way to have a student and advisor from your state recognized in front of a national audience. A plaque for the teacher and student, plus a school grant to the advisor of the winning student will be announced at a later date. Rules are in the membership kit and are also posted on the SkillsUSA website at: www.skillsusa.org/compete/pindesign.shtml. Questions may be directed to Heidi Walsh at 703-737-0615 or to hwalsh@skillsusa.org.
2013-14 Technical Standards
October 15th, 2012The Technical Standards are valid for two years. These Standards are the result of many hours of work from a collaboration of industry partners, subject matter experts and SkillsUSA staff who worked diligently to create a user-friendly product. The Standards provide our chapters and students with an up-to-date official competition guide for both the 2013 and 2014 SkillsUSA Championships. We post changes to any of the contests on our website on the “Contest Updates” page. If a posting appears on the updates page, it supersedes the Technical Standards as written. The 2013-2014 Technical Standards will be without the score sheets as they change year to year. These are available at no charge by going to: www.skillsusa.org/compete/scorecards.shtml.
The CD-ROM package, including the Standards, an information piece, a poster and the 2012 contest projects, can be purchased for $19.95 through the SkillsUSA online catalog at: www.skillsusa.org/store/contests.html. Contest singles cost $10.95 each and include the 2012 contest project (if available) as well as helpful hints from some of our technical committee members.
The Standards are available as a 480 page perfect-bound book version for $35.95, plus shipping and handling. To purchase this printed version through the online catalog, look beneath the listing for the CD-ROM package and link for purchasing on Lulu. This button will take you to LuLu.com to place your order. To further our efforts to produce more eco-friendly materials, we’ve chosen LuLu to deliver this on-demand printed version. Delivery time is approximately three to five days, depending on the selected delivery option. Please be advised the book version of the technical standards does not contain the 2012 SkillsUSA Championships contest projects.
Highlights
September 1st, 2012- The Best of Brand Awards were presented during the state directors’ conference in Rapid City. Congratulations go to: SkillsUSA Georgia for capturing Best of Brand in the Website Category and Best of Innovation, Membership Recruitment Category; SkillsUSA Massachusetts for Best of Brand in the Multi-Media Category and Best of Innovation, Advocacy Category; and, SkillsUSA Wisconsin for its Best of Brand in the Print Category.
- In early August, I had a great trip to Yakima, Wash., to do two presentations on the Skill Connect Assessments. The first was a panel discussion including other assessment providers. The second presentation was strictly on our assessments. Both presentations were packed with people. I also got to spend some great time visiting with Eleni Papadakis, the Washington state CTE director.
- I received a nice letter from Assistant Secretary of Education Brenda Dann-Messier thanking SkillsUSA for inviting her to participate in the national conference. The part I liked best comes at the end of this paragraph (that I’ll paraphrase): ”The Administration’s blueprint for Perkins reauthorization calls for transformation of our career and technical education programs based on our key principles: effective alignment of CTE and labor market needs … strong collaboration [among education and employers] … meaningful accountability [for academic, technical and employability skills] … and increased emphasis on innovation. Through your national skills competitions, and the many state and local competitions and activities that SkillsUSA offers throughout the year, your organization is already demonstrating the key reform principles in action!”
- In a quick update on national conference media coverage, we’ve documented over 100 stories about conference and/or winners in the greater Kansas City region from May into August. As a matter of fact, there’s a feature on a local medalist that ran several times beginning August 22, so it keeps on going. That figure is up over the 85 stories last year. The news releases on medalists and Skill Point recipients were emailed out almost immediately after conference, arriving before the July 4 holiday. A total of 5,581 releases were sent to daily and non-daily papers. And, trade press has been very good. Some of the trade press celebrates the fact that there are more contestants in the contests they cover. They see that as a sign of increasing interest in their fields.
- Champion of the Year invitations were delivered directly to Member offices on Capitol Hill on August 20. In all, we invited 11 Senators and 12 Representatives, including Paul Ryan who just happens to represent the district in Wisconsin where Snap-on has its headquarters. We also invited representatives from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor. A press conference is scheduled at the National Press Club during the morning of September 18.
- During our staff meeting on August 8, it was reported that Skill Connect Assessment sales were up 28 percent over last year and that we are seeing much more pre- and post-testing using the assessments. Staff also reported publication sales were up three percent over last year as of the end of June and the marketing department is still crunching the numbers on a survey taken by 650 students at conference.
- Board President, James King, was here for the staff meeting and he told the staff ”There’s interest in CTE because we teach marketable skills. The leadership component is what was missing and that’s what SkillsUSA does. I can’t think of any organization in America that does more for students than SkillsUSA.”
Making Important Connections in Louisville
August 15th, 2012Chris Powell and I traveled to Louisville on August 1 to meet with the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau’s CEO, Jim Wood, for dinner and to meet with General Electric executives on August 2. Jim had held a preliminary meeting with GE executives a few weeks ago to discuss a partnership between GE and SkillsUSA. GE’s Appliance Manufacturing Division is headquartered in Louisville, and we met with Deborah Wesler, GE’s global manager of communications and PR, and with their community relations manager. It was a great meeting, and we left very happy with the results. GE is considering support of the NLSC when we move to Louisville, including possible warehouse space in their Appliance Park facility, donation of appliances for the Championships, employee volunteer support and even a potential annual cash contribution. Thanks go to Jim Wood for making the connection for us. We are hoping for more such connections and prospect meetings as we prepare for the big move in 2015.
Highlights
August 1st, 2012- Speaking of training, Deb Tripp, our associate director of training, left the national staff on Friday, July 13 to take over the SkillsUSA state association director position in Virginia. We wish her well as the new Virginia state director.
- Prior to Deb’s departure, we posted the associate director of training position and I am pleased to announce that Niki Clausen has interviewed and been promoted to the position. Niki has come full circle through the SkillsUSA program as a former member, national officer, instructor, advisor, state director and as a member of the national staff for the past two and a half years. In her time with us, Niki has taken our alumni to new heights and we are very proud of her accomplishments. And, as one of our current trainers for students and educators, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table. I am confident she will excel in her new role.
- We are wrapping up final details and inquiries regarding our largest NLSC in history. Paid registration for conference was at all time high of 10, 037. And, there were a record 5,901 contestants, 11 percent of them over the age of 25.
- We were also thrilled with the large number of business and government VIPs attending this year. Over 300 attended, and we were pleased that one of them, Assistant Secretary of Education Dr. Brenda Dan-Messier, was published in a recent USDOE newsletter: Commenting on the NLSC experience, Dann-Messier said, “I was truly humbled and inspired by the … students who competed in 94 skills competitions …. Equally amazing was the enormous outpouring of support—through voluntarism, cash contributions, state-of-the-art equipment, etc.—from hundreds of teachers, national advisers, and business and industry leaders across this nation. I walked away filled with hope for our nation’s future workforce and prosperity.” Dann-Messier also spoke at the Youth Development Foundation Awards and Recognition Luncheon, before the SkillsUSA corporate meeting, and before the SkillsUSA joint delegate special session.
- I attended the Construction Industries Institute in Baltimore starting last Sunday through Wednesday with Karmen Ayers, past national officer from Washington State. Karmen was our student representative and speaker at the opening plenary of construction executives. Karmen and I operated a SkillsUSA exhibit booth at this event in cooperation with NCCER. There were great connections with several hundred commercial construction executives at this event.
Sample Press Release for NLSC Participants Reminder
August 1st, 2012A sample letter/press release is on the SkillsUSA’s advocacy site. It’s a template to be used by state association directors, instructors, parents and others to help get the word out to the media and to Congress about the students who competed or participated in some other way (i.e., as a delegate, Courtesy Corps member, etc.) during the National Leadership and Skills Conference. The press release can be sent to five media outlets at a time through the advocacy site and to the students’ Representative and Senators. The site can be reached by going to: http://www.skillsusa.org/about/policy.shtml and clicking on “advocacy site.” Please encourage your teachers to use and spread the word about this valuable tool.
SkillsUSA Championships Medalist Photos
August 1st, 2012The winners’ photos from the 2012 SkillsUSA Championships are categorized and the captions have been completed. We’ll be happy to send a winners’ photo or photos to anyone who requests it. If you’d like to receive a photo, please email Jane Short at jshort@skillsusa.org.
National Conference Still Changing Lives
July 15th, 2012The National Leadership and Skills Conference is always an exciting—transforming—experience involving 15,000 of our closest friends. It’s also humbling to realize how much our collective work affects lives. Many teachers said to me and to staff: “Thank you for what you do for our students.”
Of course, that includes you. By way of example, board member Greg Rintala forwarded an email he received from Tina Oswald-White of mikeroweWORKS Foundation with an attached thank-you note from a student who received a mikeroweWORKS travel scholarship. The email commended the board members “who work so hard behind the scenes . . . and do so much not only for the organization but for the students and our future workforce.” The student’s note said in part “[This experience] opened my eyes to how much potential I have in the world, something I have never seen before.”
I wish everyone could have heard the Assistant Secretary of Labor Jane Oates say during the Special Guest Breakfast on Tuesday, “Scholarships and internships are wonderful for individuals. Support for SkillsUSA is an investment in capacity building for the American workforce.”
All of our special guests including Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary of Education Brenda Dann-Messier, Bill Symonds of the Harvard Pathways to Prosperity Project and many more were all amazed by the conference. As one of our first-time guests said to me, “If Secretary of Education Arne Duncan could see this, he’d stop talking about ‘islands of excellence’ in CTE.”
I’m not even going to start recounting all of the corporate executives in attendance, but it was delightful to have the top executives from two of our best sponsors attending the conference together, Jim Lentz of Toyota and Nick Pinchuk of Snap-on. I understand each had a marvelous time and I know Jim was in the news more than once. Here’s one TV clip including Jim – http://fox4kc.com/2012/06/26/students-showing-off-talents-at-skillsusa-competition/.
Speaking of news, the early report on coverage in the Kansas City area media includes 79 separate stories and that doesn’t even include stories that are coming in on area winners. For the first time ever this year, we had three of the four TV networks covering the Championships live simultaneously and multiple times on Tuesday morning. There were 24 stories on Tuesday alone. Several years ago, we asked the Convention and Visitors Association what other Kansas City convention SkillsUSA should use as a benchmark for news coverage. The answer was “SkillsUSA is the benchmark. No organization gets the coverage you get.” We’re also picking up national coverage.
