- I’m pleased to report that SkillsUSA’s board of directors is now at full strength. Robert Wagner of Lowe’s and Joe Pietrantonio of Air Products complete the industry chairs and Kathryn Manns will now fill the chair for the American Association of Community Colleges. This is going to be quite a board meeting in August.
- We held a post-conference debriefing meeting on July 13 and reviewed departments’ plus-delta reports. We created a top 10 challenges list of items to be overcome by next year’s conference, but – in the main – staff seems to believe that the conference went very well.
- On July 20, SkillsUSA staff, by invitation, attended a high-level meeting at the Manufacturing Institute of the National Association of Manufacturers. The subject was industry’s concern on how it can excite American youth about manufacturing careers. They said manufacturing needs to rebrand itself. Participants also discussed the need for an umbrella organization to promote manufacturing careers to young people and to focus the message. The next phase of the discussion will be on message coordination. More meetings are planned.
- The Virginia state officer team was here at the National Leadership Center on July 17 along with state director Dave Rathbone. On the 14th, we had a meeting with Microsoft consultants to talk about much needed upgrades to our software and the server.
- And, on the 28th, I met with union executives at AFL-CIO headquarters to discuss support for the SkillsUSA WorldTeam.
Highlights
August 1st, 2010Virginia State Officers Issue Nationwide Food Bank
November 1st, 2009Virginia’s CTSO state officers, including SkillsUSA, are conducting a food drive that they hope can make a major impact on food banks across the country. The nation’s food banks are experiencing critical shortages because of a tough economy, which has resulted in fewer donations. Their challenge to other states is to help food banks nationwide by having state officer teams and local chapters of CTSOs work to see who can collect the most canned goods.
This project runs through December 30—a critical time for food banks across the nation. State officer teams should contact local chapters in their state and challenge them to collect food for any area food bank. Simply ask chapters to donate food to their local food bank and obtain a receipt for the number of pounds of food donated. State officer teams for SkillsUSA or any CTSO can participate.
At the end of the collection period, local chapters will submit their food bank receipts to their state officer team. The state officer team or state director will then submit all forms for that state back to Virginia to see which state has collected the most. The largest state organization winner will then be recognized by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE).
Chapters should attach their receipts to a Local Chapter Donation Form. State officer teams will then combine their local chapter forms and submit a State Chapter Donation Form with a copy of the local chapter forms for counting. Submit to: Sandy Mills, Lord Fairfax Community College, 173 Skirmisher Lane, Middletown, Virginia, 22645 or Fax to (540) 868-7100. Download both donation forms at the following Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=278223665342&index=1
If you have questions concerning this project, contact Sandy Mills at smills@lfcc.edu or 540-868-7043 or Ann Craddock at abc@vahosa.org. Forms will be accepted from any state organization until January 15, 2010.
