CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
Vol. 43, No. 53
July 9, 2009
28 Missouri Students Win Medals at National SkillsUSA Championships
SkillsUSA recognized 28 Missouri high school and college students for their outstanding skills at its national championships held June 22-27 in Kansas City. SkillsUSA presented medals for first, second- and third-place finishers during the awards ceremony of its 45th National Leadership and Skills Conference.
Working against the clock and each other, more than 5,400 career and technical students proved their expertise in 91 trade, technical and leadership fields. Students demonstrated job skills for occupations such as electronics, technical drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts. Students also tested their leadership skills, such as extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings by parliamentary procedure.
Students not only competed against each other, but also competed to win valuable prizes and scholarships. Out of Missouri’s 203 participants, over 60 percent placed in the top 10.
SkillsUSA is the national organization for students in trade, industrial, technical and health occupations education. It sponsors the annual SkillsUSA Championships to recognize students’ achievements and to encourage them to strive for excellence and pride in their chosen occupations.
“The conference was one of the biggest and best we have ever had,” said Paul Light, state SkillsUSA advisor at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “The 5,400 competitors are representative of the workforce of the future – our nation’s true economic bailout – and Missouri students were well represented.”
The SkillsUSA Championships is the national competition for public high school and postsecondary/college technical students enrolled in trade, industrial, technical, health and skilled service profession instructional programs. SkillsUSA organizes this event, and it is considered the single greatest day of industry volunteerism in America. Each SkillsUSA Championships contestant is a state-level gold medalist.
The contests are planned by technical committees made up of representatives of labor and management and are designed to test the skills needed for a successful entry-level performance in given occupational fields. Safety practices and procedures also constitute a portion of the criteria for every event.
The 2009 SkillsUSA secondary-level medalists are:
Individual Competitions – Gold
Electronics Applications
Matthew Wilson
Davis H. Hart Career Center, Mexico
Individual Competitions – Silver
Architectural Drafting
Gage Barton
Hillyard Technology Center, St. Joseph
Individual Competitions – Bronze
Medical Terminology
Michelle Chambers
Hillyard Technical Center, St. Joseph
Team Competitions – Gold
Engineering Technology
Jordon Geeson, Robert Siegfried and Clayton Littrell
Davis H. Hart Career Center, Mexico
Team Competitions – Silver
Tech-Prep Information Technology
Kurt Doney, Jason Franke and Eric McReynolds
Career and Technical Center at Fort Osage
Team Competitions – Bronze
Audio-Radio Production
Brad Hopkins and Aaron Watkins
Sikeston Career and Technology Center
Video Product Development
Joshua McWilson, Lance McWilson, Bem Essner and Trent Vandeven
Cape Girardeau Career Technical Center
The 2009 postsecondary medalists are:
Individual Competitions – Gold
Customer Service
Tonya Patrick
Warrensburg Area Career Center
Electronics Applications
Drew Collins
Linn State Technical College
Extemporaneous Speaking
Jason Anderson
Northland Career Center, Platte City
Food & Beverage Service
Emily Spiller
Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield
Screen Printing Technology
Katie Boyts
Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield
Individual Competitions – Silver
Preschool Teaching Assistant
Faith Swickard
Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield
Individual Competitions – Bronze
Automotive Service Tech
Dane Fletcher
Ranken Technical College, St. Louis
Basic Health Care Skills
Amy Walsh
Lewis & Clark Career Center, St. Charles
Culinary Arts
Tyler Grant
Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield
Practical Nursing
Cynthia Carson
Warrensburg Area Career Center
Technical Drafting
Paul Volkmer
Rolla Technical Institute
Team Competitions – Silver
Audio-Radio Production
Jeff Black and Austin Kittleman
Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield
In addition, Missouri had 89 members who received the Skill Point certificate. The certificate is a tool to recognize outstanding talent beyond those who earn gold, silver or bronze medals at the SkillsUSA Championships. Students can use their certificates to document achievement and to show potential employers as indicators of proficiency.
Participation in SkillsUSA is growing in Missouri and across the nation. With more than 11,000 members, Missouri SkillsUSA currently is the seventh largest state chapter in the nation. The state affiliate of the national SkillsUSA organization is the career and technical student organization for Missouri and consists of nine districts with more than 85 local chapters.