Four aspiring construction professionals will be awarded $400 each to help them attend the SkillsUSA Championships in Kansas City, Mo., June 25-27. To enter, students should submit a brief essay of no more than 200 words explaining their best and most creative uses for LIQUID NAILS Brand adhesives. Entries must be received via email by June 1. To learn more, go to: www.liquidnails.com/news/entry.pdf?entryId=55.
Creative Craftsmanship Challenge Reminder
May 14th, 2012National Courtesy Corps Needs You!
May 13th, 2012We encourage advisors and students to sign up to come to the NLSC as National Courtesy Corps members. There, they will be assisting in the setup and take-down and everything in between at the NLSC. This year, because of the change in days when the conference is held and the need for a rapid move-out, we will require many volunteers to assist in the effort to move out quickly.
We request members arrive on Wednesday, 6/20/12, by 5 p.m., so they can start to work on the contest areas on Thursday , 6/21/12. They will depart from conference on Thursday, 6/28/12. All NCC participants will be housed at Park University Campus in Parkville, Mo. This campus is about 12-15 minutes away from Bartle Hall. The advisors must supervise the students. SkillsUSA will develop an individual schedule for each student and advisor listing work assignments, breaks, free time, etc., and there will be a separate advisor session to review their duties and responsibilities. For more information about Courtesy Corps, please go to: www.skillsusa.org/events/courtesy.shtml. To register, go to www.smartreg.com/webreg/SKILLSUSA12/ and then follow the instructions for Volunteers-Courtesy Corps.
Alumni Training and National Conference Volunteers Reminder
May 12th, 2012The Alumni & Friends Association will be offering alumni training on June 22-23, 2012 at the National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC) in Kansas City, Mo. The training will cover how to start a state alumni association, how to plan alumni activities, volunteer training, inclusion and diversity training and professional development. The training will cost $30 and includes two lunches, a training T-shirt and resource materials. The registration deadline for the training is June 1.
We are also seeking dedicated individuals to assist with the NLSC. Alumni who volunteer daily at the conference can have their conference registration fee waived. Alumni help is needed on the booth team, leadership team, Championships team and special services team. While at conference, alumni volunteers will also have the opportunity to network with partners, members, staff and other alumni, will have some meals provided and will get to participate in conference events. This is a great way for alumni members to stay involved and continue the SkillsUSA journey. The registration deadline to be an alumni volunteer is also June 1.
For more information about the alumni training and being an alumni volunteer, please contact Niki Clausen at 703-737-0639 or by email to nclausen@skillsusa.org. For more information, go to: www.skillsusa.org/supporters/alumninlsc.shtml.
Leverage, Activate and Engage Conference
May 12th, 2012Don’t forget to register for Leverage, Activate and Engage conferences (formerly known as SkillsUSA Officer Training 101/201 and Advisor Training) by the June 1 deadline. Leverage is for state officers, Activate for chapter leaders and Engage is for advisors. Also, an exciting new element of the conferences is Dr. Tim Elmore, president of Growing Leaders, who will kick-off Leverage and Activate and facilitate a three-and-a-half-hour workshop with SkillsUSA advisors. Engage participants will attend the workshop as a part of their registration fee and others can attend for a $25 fee. Find out more about these conferences and register to attend: www.skillsusa.org/events/training.shtml.
SkillsUSA Championships Contest Updates
May 12th, 2012We have posted many SkillsUSA Championships contest updates on our Web page. To view them, please visit: www.skillsusa.org/compete/updates.shtml and make sure the information gets to the national competitors.
There aren’t updates in every contest; just in some. If new information is presented about a contest, the information can be critical to a student’s competition. We request technical committee chairs complete contest updates by June 1st so the students can prepare. If they do add or change anything after June 1, we have to mail (by first-class mail) the information directly to the competitors.
If we don’t have a competitor’s home address in our records, the information will go to the state association director to be sent to the students. After June 1, please make all students should check their mail for any contest update information.
NLSC Parking Information
May 11th, 2012Parking passes for Municipal Auditorium Garage and Cathedral Parking Garage for conference week will be sold on-site only. The cost will be $50 for Municipal and $45 for Cathedral. Passes will be on sale in Lobby 2100 (north side of 13th Street), just outside the SkillsUSA Conference headquarters on the following days and times: Friday, June 22, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday, June 23, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Cash, checks, Visa, MasterCard and American Express are also accepted. A map of the immediate downtown area with other parking options will be provided. Please refer to the following link for more information: www.skillsusa.org/events/nlscparking.shtml.
SkillsUSA’s Amazing Race
May 11th, 2012SkillsUSA’s Amazing Race will take place on Monday, June 25, 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. in connection with TECHSPO during the NLSC in Kansas City. This program will be similar to the TV show where participants are challenged to perform various tasks and move quickly through the TECHSPO territory in order to learn more about exhibitors and win prizes. In addition, SkillsUSA’s Amazing Race will provide interactive fun for students and adults. The passport will be distributed through the state delegation conference materials distributed during the registration appointments at the beginning of the week. Participants will be challenged to follow clues and vendors’ requests to advance to the next exhibit booth. Once at the correct booth, participants must either perform a task or duty in order to qualify for a stamp on their passport cards. There are two roadblocks included in the race. After completing pit stops 1-11 (out of 12), the participant must report to the 12th and final destination and turn in the card at the last booth. The race will conclude at the SkillsUSA Alumni booth where membership will be encouraged. Prizes will be distributed at the alumni booth to participants who complete the race. There is a limited quantity of prizes, so it will be important to complete the race in a timely manner.
State Conference “Mega Tour” Visits Kentucky and Idaho
May 1st, 2012On April 3-5, I was in Louisville for the SkillsUSA Kentucky State Leadership Conference and Skills Championships held at the Galt House Hotel, the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenter Joint Apprenticeship Training Center, two local community/technical colleges and a high school. There were 88 leadership and skills contests and lots of industry support. There were prizes for all medalists in all contests both high school and college/postsecondary. That’s a rare occurrence, and I know it required considerable work, not only to secure the prizes but organizing them as well. A highlight of the conference was the presentation of scholarships from the Steve Phillippi Scholarship Fund with checks presented by none other than … Steve Phillippi, recently retired Kentucky state association director. Congratulations go to Fran Dundon, interim state association director, for holding such a successful conference.
My next stop on the mega tour was in Boise, Idaho on April 11-13. First stop was a trip to Dennis Professional Technical Education Center with Dr. Irene Vogel, state association director. Dennis is a high school tech center and has 100 percent SkillsUSA membership. The school is full of SkillsUSA banners, posters and student recognition. There’s even a wall of fame for national winners, and many of our national partners have their logos displayed as well including Lowe’s, State Farm and Caterpillar. If there’s a “Disneyland of SkillsUSA,” I believe Dennis Tech is in the running.
I spoke during the opening ceremony early on April 12 and then met with the advisors immediately following the ceremony. I also spent time with Ann Stephens, the current state CTE director and with Todd Schwarz, the incoming state CTE director, effective June 1. I’m hoping Todd can be with us for the national conference in Kansas City. I also got to meet with the SkillsUSA Idaho board of directors and former SkillsUSA national board president, Dr. Don Eshelby. Contests were held in 17 different locations.
Official Competition Clothing
April 30th, 2012All SkillsUSA Championships competition clothing should be purchased through SkillsUSA’s officially licensed merchandiser, EGroup. If EGroup doesn’t offer some item of official competition clothing required by some contests (e.g., plain black slacks, culinary tunics), such items of competition clothing may be purchased from non-EGroup sources, but must comply with clothing rules set forth in the Technical Standards 2011-2012 or in the contest updates, if cited. Official competition clothing can be purchased at: www.skillsusastore.org/skillsusa/productthumbnails.asp.
