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The State SkillsUSA Directors' Association created the Advisor of the Year award to recognize and honor dedicated career and technical education instructors who serve as SkillsUSA advisors. The Advisor of the Year program is sponsored by Delmar Cengage Learning. State winners are submitted to the regional competition. At NLSC, regional winners are interviewed and a national winner is selected. The national winner was announced on Tuesday, June 24 during the Opening Ceremony of the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City, Mo. |
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SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. We help each student excel. SkillsUSA • P.O. Box 3000 • Leesburg, Virginia • 20177-0300 (703) 777-8810 • FAX: (703) 777-8999 SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit and tax-exempt student organization under the Internal Revenue Service Code, Section (501)(c)(3). |
For the last 21 years, Nancy Bell has been a SkillsUSA advisor at Calvert Career Center in Prince Frederick, Md., where she serves as the vocational evaluator. Described as a "leader by example," Bell oversees the center's Outstanding Chapter project each year, evaluating articles, advising students, assisting in photography and more. For nine of the last 10 years, Bell's Outstanding Chapter students have placed in the top three at the SkillsUSA Championships. But that speaks to only a fraction of what Bell contributes to her students and her school. She serves as the news release and media information specialist, works on community service projects, evaluates high school mentorship students and counsels students who might be having difficulty in their program. She also donates her time as a scorekeeper for regional competitions, chaperones students attending state and the national competition and assists with fund-raisers. The main gauge of Bell's success as an advisor are the students she reaches, many of whom often return to thank her after they've graduated and gone on to pursue their careers. 
Cheryl Rees has been a SkillsUSA advisor for 18 years. A graphic arts instructor at Kendrick High School in Columbus, Ga., Rees has led her students to an astounding 92 regional medals, 82 state medals and eight national medals. But technical proficiency isn't the only aspect of education that concerns Rees. She also develops her students' leadership abilities, advising nine state officers in the past 11 years and helping her students coordinate community service projects by first assessing community needs and then developing their own unique projects. Rees has also been active in developing SkillsUSA Georgia's program, serving on the board of directors and as president of the SkillsUSA Advisors Association. She's received numerous honors during her tenure, such as the Air Force Outstanding Technology Educator award and SkillsUSA Georgia Advisor of the Year award (twice). Committed to lifelong learning, she also mentors other graphic arts instructors, helping them to achieve printing industry certifications. Described as "dynamic," "creative" and "tireless" by her peers, Rees is a true champion for career and technical education students.
A diesel technology instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, David Richard has served SkillsUSA as an advisor for the last 17 years. His students have won the state competition 11 times and placed in the top 10 at the national competition nine times. Many of his students have become state officers, including four state presidents and two vice presidents. Richard also works hard to develop his students' leadership skills, often incorporating them into presentations to industry and high schools. Speaking of industry, Richard has worked hard to build beneficial relationships with industry leaders, like Caterpillar, Detroit Diesel, Cummins and more. In 2005, the school received the Cummins National Diesel Training School Award, which Richard - instrumental in the achievement - accepted on behalf of the school. His students are also heavily involved in community service activitites, from blood drives to work with Habitat for Humanity. Richard has been called "a special kind of man" by his peers, and SkillsUSA is lucky to call him one of its own. 
Larry Kuretsch is an Automotive Technology instructor at El Campo (Texas) High School, the same school from which he graduated in 1970. For 19 years, he's also served the school as a SkillsUSA advisor, and he's had an amazing influence on the lives of his students. Kuretsch came to teaching from industry; he owned his own repair shop until 1988 and is Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) master certified. Upon beginning his teaching career, Kuretsch immediately re-established SkillsUSA (which the previous teacher had allowed to lapse) and set about to improve the school's automotive program through the achievement of ASE certification. With that certification came a host of new partnerships with local businesses and consequently more opportunities for his students. Kuretsch goes the extra mile with those students, spending time helping them decide on a college, explore a job opportunity or acquire a scholarship. Fellow teachers have called his students "exceptionally trained and prepared for the industry." Kuretsch makes sure his own skills are up to date, too, by spending summers attending various training programs. His devotion to his field, his school and his students has been remarkable.
Called a "thought-provoking and dynamic instructor" by his peers, Michael Pointer has been a welding instructor for 30 years and a SkillsUSA advisor at Regional Technical Institute in Reno, Nev., for the last 18 years. He's a past Nevada Vocational Teacher of the Year and has received the Washoe Education Association's Exceptional Educator award. He complements his welding curriculum with SkillsUSA's Professional Development Program, designed to teach students employability and leadership skills. In fact, he works with each student individually to shape his program around the student's goals beyond high school. Pointer strives to keep his program on the cutting edge of technology, constantly updating his curriculum and even mentoring fellow teachers. Pointer holds numerous professional memberships, including his current position of membership chair with the Nevada Association of Career and Technical Education. He's also extremely active in his community and encourages his students to follow his example. In the words of a former student, "his valuable insight into business and industry and selfless contributions toward learning is a testament to the kind of devotion he has toward career and technical education."