• TeamUSA Shows Our Pride Worldwide
• Champions in Cyberspace
• 2003 NLSC Sets Records, Makes History
• Members Let Leadership Ring in Philadelphia
• Honorees and Gold Medalists, Conference 2003

TeamUSA 2003: (front row, from left) Crystal Pruskowski, Craig Dort, Miles Tilley; (back row) Casey Calouette, Rusty Brown, Samuel Davenport, Adam Peterson, Allen Stenzel (click on image for larger version).

The next time you hear people question the United States’ ability to compete on a global scale in the technical arena, tell ’em about TeamUSA 2003. This eight-member squad (photo and names above) ranked ninth out of 37 countries at the 38th WorldSkills Competition in St. Gallen, Switzerland. “They are all so proud of our country and want so badly to do well for the U.S.A. and for their friends, family and especially instructors,” said team leader Mark Claypool as the competition started. The team did not disappoint, bringing home seven awards. Brown took the silver medal in Auto Service Technology; Tilley nabbed the bronze in Welding; and Calouette and Stenzel each received a diploma of honor for Mechatronics, as did Davenport for CNC Turning, Dort for Refrigeration and Pruskowski for Ladies Hairdressing.

Finally, SkillsUSA Champions is online (which, if you're reading this now, you should hopefully realize)! Review past issues, peruse the current one, submit story ideas, take part in interactive polls and more! (About the only thing you can’t do on the site is look up the definition of “peruse.”) To view the site, you’ll need to enter a special user ID and password. Currently, the user ID is “skillsusa” and the password is “champions.” Both the user ID and the password will change with each new edition of the print magazine, but don’t worry—they can always be found on Page 4 of each issue. Go to www.skillsusa.org/champions to log on. Some sections may still be under construction, so please pardon our dust as we finish the job.

We suppose it would be fair to say that the 2003 National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City, Mo., was just like any other NLSC. After all, like each that came before it, this year’s NLSC was bigger, better and more exciting than its predecessor!

The Opening Ceremony featured a historical first, as a SkillsUSA student—2002-2003 secondary president Julia Abramova—delivered the main address to nearly 12,000 students, teachers and partners. TECHSPO, the nation’s largest trade show for technical education, buzzed with excitement, featuring the most participants ever and an appearance by NASCAR greats Tony Stewart (in the Home Depot booth) and Kurt Busch (in Rubbermaid’s).

Even Skills University was packed with the most seminars ever.And the SkillsUSA Championships? Mere words and pictures can’t do justice to the sheer scope of this mammoth event, covering over nine football fields of floor space. And with the most contests (75) and competitors (nearly 4,200) ever, the SkillsUSA Championships secured its position as the Godzilla of career and technical education events.

SkillsUSA members returned to Kansas City’s Ozanam House, which aids children with emotional challenges, to finish the work they began last year. Students painted, performed landscaping and made numerous other improvements for the center’s residents.

Finally, at the Awards Ceremony, gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded, new national officers were announced, and a roar of personal and professional triumphs rocked the block one last time—until next year, that is, when the NLSC returns to Kansas City June 20–25.

Forty-five students and 30 teachers from 10 states turned the Liberty Bell into the Leadership Bell at SkillsUSA’s 2003 Leadership Development Academy in Philadelphia.
Students learned to create effective presentations, honed their abilities to work on a team and more. Advisors studied the basics of a successful SkillsUSA chapter, learned how to facilitate their students’ leadership development and participated in SkillsUSA contests to increase their understanding of what a student goes through during real competition.

A community service project teamed SkillsUSA members with local residents to clean up inner-city neighborhoods (see photo above). Students also donated books to a local literacy program and raised $1,200 for Philadelphia Cares, a local volunteer organization. Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Jesse Epps (who is also a lauded civil rights activist and was a friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) spoke on behalf of his organization, the National Union of Families, saying that caring for one’s community and neighbors is what makes America great.

“[We] thought the LDA was a blast,” said Mississippi advisor Bill Norcross. “We enjoyed meeting new friends and seeing the city."