The medalists’ photos from the 2011 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.
SkillsUSA Championships Medalist Photos
July 31st, 2011The SkillsUSA Championships
June 23rd, 2011Today is the big day for SkillsUSA Champions from across the nation. The 2011 SkillsUSA Championships are happening today! With 94 contests and more than 5,700 competitors, the championships encompasses Bartle Hall, its Conference Center, Municipal Auditorium, American Royal Center and downtown Marriott, Crowne Plaza and Phillips hotels.
Make sure to take the time to stop by and see the contests in Municipal Auditorium and make the trip down to the American Royal Center (next to Kemper Arena) to check out the TeamWorks, Welding Fabrication and Welding Art Sculpture contests. The SkillsUSA Championships is supported by more than 1,000 companies and associations.
But it’s not only contests today. SkillsUSA TECHSPO continues both at the outside street exhibits and in the lobbies throughout Bartle Hall. There’s still time to register for the Champions 5K Run. You have until 4 p.m. today at the Alumni booth (No. 232). There will be another Meet the Candidates session, business meeting and the SkillsUSA Delegates will cast their primary ballot for our new national officers.
Tonight, make sure you head out to Royals Stadium for SkillsUSA Night. It’s a great way to blow off steam after an exciting day of competition.
A Call to Action
June 22nd, 2011Today’s a big day. The Call to Action Session begins this morning at 8:30 and is the only place during NLSC where all instructors/advisors gather in a meeting specifically for teachers and administrators. There will be a thank-you gift for every person attending, and it’s a great time to hear about the latest SkillsUSA happenings and from our partners in Washington, D.C.
SkillsUSA University begins today at 10 a.m. See: www.skillsusa.org/events/skillsuniv.shtml for details. Also, be sure and check out SkillsUSA’s Amazing Race. It’s part of SkillsUSA TECHSPO and begins today at 10:30 a.m. You can find all the details on Page 18 of the conference program: http://www.skillsusa.org/downloads/PDF/NLSC/program.pdf.
The SkillsUSA Delegates continue their important work today with a Meet the Candidates session at 1 p.m.
This evening at 7 p.m., the conference officially begins with our Opening Ceremony at Kemper Arena, sponsored by Bosch and Georgia-Pacific. Our keynote speaker is John McGlade, CEO, Air Products and SkillsUSA’s Champion of the Year for 2010. The ceremony closes with the ribbon cutting for the SkillsUSA Championships. Everything will be broadcast live via Internet.
Log on at www.skillsusa.org/events/nlscvideo.shtml.
Great Finalists for WorldSkills Welding
June 15th, 2011SkillsUSA has three super finalists for the Welding contestant spot on the SkillsUSA WorldTeam. In my estimation, any one of these students would be a great representative for the United States. On May 22-24, I attended an American Welding Society (AWS) Pre Weld-Off event in Mobile, Alabama. AWS is the primary sponsor of the SkillsUSA WorldTeam selection process, and the 2011 quadruple elimination process has been going on for several months now. The field has narrowed to: Alex Pazkowsk and Brad Clink from Michigan and Zack Brown from Mississippi.
Monday morning started with the introduction of the finalists followed by guest presenters, John Mendoza, AWS president and Lee Hammett and Mr. Hopper of Alabama Industrial Development Training – Maritime Training Center in Mobile. Mendoza presented on the image of welding and the opportunities for individuals to obtain a career in welding with the help of AWS and the scholarships that are awarded each year. Mr. Hopper presented on behalf of the AIDT program at the training center and talked about the facilities, training and career options the facility provides for the Gulf Coast region. Of course, I got in a few words too about SkillsUSA and how we help young men and women prepare for the workforce.
Following the opening event, there was an excellent professional development seminar conducted by David Hernandez that covered topics including professional development, stress management and public speaking. The seminar was designed specifically for the three finalists to help them mentally prepare for world-level competition. David will attend the national conference so he can do the same thing for all the members of the WorldTeam. Several advisors, industry partners and SkillsUSA students from the Gulf Region also participated in all the professional development training on Monday.
From Tuesday through Thursday, the three finalists worked in competition mode and were required to perform an assortment of weldments similar to those they’ll face in London during the 41st WorldSkills Competition. On Friday, all projects were turned in, inspected, and critiqued by three former world competitors and SkillsUSA alumni: Branden Muehlbrandt, Lincoln Electric, Nick Peterson, Miller Electric and Ray Connely, USA Welding Expert. The final AWS Weld-Off to select the WorldTeam Welding contestant will be held during national conference in Kansas City.
Sample Press Release for Competitors
June 14th, 2011A sample press release has been added to 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 when they return from conference 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 letter can be sent to five media outlets at a time.
The site can be reached by going to http://capwiz.com/skillsusa/home/
Please take advantage of and spread the word about this valuable tool.
Got Champions?
June 1st, 2011At the national conference, the staff of SkillsUSA Champions magazine will be on the lookout for interview subjects and cover models.
If you know of a SkillsUSA student, advisor, industry representative or alumnus who will be at conference and would be a great Champion to interview for our magazine, please email Tom Hall. He’ll then set up a specific time to meet with the magazine staff.
In addition, if you know of a student who could be a potential cover model, there are designated “photo studio” hours below. Please let Tom know if your student member will be coming.
- Tuesday, June 21, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., at Champions Night at the Power and Light District (upper level, near the elevator for the “Living Room”)
- Wednesday, June 22, 1 p.m.-1:45 p.m., Bartle Hall, Room 2212 (near the business center between Lobbies 2200 and 2300)
- Friday, June 24, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Bartle Hall, Room 2212
Four photos will be chosen to appear on SkillsUSA Champions covers next year. The remaining photos will appear in various materials, from the membership poster to other promotions.
Our magazine staff looks forward to meeting your Champions at conference!
Lots to Discuss During Lowe’s Meeting
April 1st, 2011On March 14 and 15, several staff members and I traveled to Mooresville, N.C., to meet with various Lowe’s representatives and executives. One key topic was the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation (LCEF) review and approval of the 2011 grant allocations, which will carry forward programs including state Championships TeamWorks events, support for the WorldTeam, Championships support, and CareerSafe, among others.
While we were reviewing the Community Service and Campus Improvement Grant applications, SkillsUSA and Lowe’s decided future grants will be evaluated in part on how the grant-funded projects address essential and basic needs and whether they will be long-lasting and self-sustaining.
In an exciting new development, Lowe’s executives agreed to help SkillsUSA grow its partnership base by soliciting their own vendor partners on our behalf. The goal is to acquire at least 10 new vendor sponsors for SkillsUSA by this summer building upon “The Power of 10” theme established during last year’s conference.
Also, the team spent a great deal of time helping to coordinate and organize Lowe’s presence during national conference, their giveaway pavilion and their sponsorship of the awards ceremony.
Other discussions centered on using social media to promote our partnership, public relations and special projects to come. More exciting news came from the Kobalt team. Not only will they continue their tool giveaway program, but they are expanding the program to include 1,000 schools. And, they are also creating an opportunity for a very special event that we’ll announce soon for a lucky and talented SkillsUSA student.
Job Skill Demonstration Contest Clarification
March 15th, 2011Because there are still some issues surrounding Job Skill Demonstration A vs. Job Skill Demonstration O (Open), both the State Directors’ Technical Standards Subcommittee and the SkillsUSA Championships Executive Committee will be working together to clarify this issue. In the interim, we hope the following will help.
Job Skill Demo A – Any skill can be demonstrated, as long as it relates directly to the competencies taught in the competitor’s curriculum (occupational specialty or college major). Examples are a culinary student who demonstrates correctly the calibration of a meat thermometer or an active SkillsUSA student member in horticulture demonstrating a gardening technique. Another approach is that it can be from any program listed in our 2011-2012 SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards.
Job Skill Demo O – The competitor demonstrates a skill that is NOT RELATED to his or her occupational specialty. Examples would be a culinary student who demonstrates how to rebuild a carburetor, or an interior design student who demonstrates a motorcycle repair technique. Also included in this category is any program that is not covered in the 2011-2012 SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards (an example would be an agricultural or business program).
If you have questions, please contact Dave Worden at dworden@skillsusa.org.
2011-2012 SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards
October 15th, 2010The new 2011-2012 SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards are now available. The Technical 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 2011 and 2012 SkillsUSA Championships.
The CD-ROM package, which includes the standards, a poster and 2010 contest projects, can be purchased for $19.95 through the SkillsUSA online catalog at: www.skillsusa.org/store/contests.html.
On request, we are also offering a 606-page, perfect-bound book version for $32.95 plus shipping and handling. To purchase this printed version through the online catalog, look beneath the listing for the CD-ROM package and locate the blue and yellow “LuLu” button. 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. From order time to delivery takes approximately three to five days, depending on the selected delivery option. The book version of the technical standards does not contain the 2010 SkillsUSA Championships Contest Projects.
2011 Contest Singles
October 15th, 2010The 2011-2012 SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards have been revised and new rules will be effective at the 2011-2012 Championships. Contest guidelines are included within the 2011 contest singles. The contest singles provide the contest guidelines, helpful hints from some of our technical committee members and the 2010 contest project (if available). Singles are available now at: www.skillsusa.org/store/singles.html.
