SkillsUSA on Broadway
The State Officer Team, accompanied by advisors, members of the state staff and alumni traveled to New York City on December 8 for the annual holiday excursion.
This popular event involves a Broadway show, holiday sightseeing, dinner and shopping. This years Broadway show was the hit musical, A Chorus Line. Afterwards, the team took part in shopping at various stores in and around Times Square. The dinner was held at the Marriott Marquis, and as usual it was magnificent! The night was ended with a stroll to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, a visit Saint Patrick's Cathedral and various nearby stores.
Members of the State Officer Team in front of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
State Competitions on February 2
We are pleased to announce that Ocean County Vo-Tech has once again offered to host the following state competitions on Saturday, February 2, 2008, 8:00 AM (Snow date: Sunday, February 3):
- Commercial Photography
- Motorcycle Technology
- Marine Technology
- Power Equipment Technology
- Commercial Bakers Aide
To register and/or find out more information, visit the following link: http://www.nj-skillsusa.org/compete/ocvt.html
There will be two other competitions at OCVT on February 2, Chocolate Dessert Challenge and Tech Prep Showcase. There are separate registration forms for these events; please contact JoAnn Vincenz at 908-526-8900, ext. 7249, for more information.
Finalists will be announced at the conclusion of the competitions on February 2. Medals will be presented at the SkillsUSA Championships Awards Ceremony on May 3.
Local Chapter News
Local chapter officers from Morris County School of Technology participated in a gift drive for the children at the Allegro School in Cedar Knolls. The Allegro School is for children and young adults with autism. This is the 4th year the SkillsUSA officers visited the school. The officers collected gifts for all 107 students and dropped the gifts off on December 19, 2007.
Drive for Five Membership Campaign
SkillsUSA has set a membership goal of reaching a record-breaking of 300,000 members. Upon reaching this historic milestone, SkillsUSA will have the largest membership since our founding in 1965. Membership is not just reaching a new number or an arbitrary goal-growth means the opportunity to create a larger and stronger voice for career and technical education as a whole in Washington, D.C. and all across the nation.
SkillsUSA is launching the campaign by sending a mailing to all 15,000 local chapters of SkillsUSA. To participate, each instructor will be invited to complete a Pledge Card stating that his or her school chapter or section will set a goal of adding five additional members over the previous school year. These five memberships may be paid student members or paid professional members, or any combination of the two. Pledge cards may be submitted by fax, by mail or online.
Please help SkillsUSA to reach this important milestone and be a champion for SkillsUSA! For more information, visit the following link: www.skillsusa.org/educators/championscampaign.shtml
Peer Recruitment Video Competition
SkillsUSA is partnering with SchoolTube on an exciting new venture to bring high quality videos and opportunities for creative expression to career and technical students.
Through the Peer Recruitment Video Competition, local SkillsUSA members can make a recruiting video that will get other students excited about the SkillsUSA program. We know that our own SkillsUSA members know best what other students will find entertaining and informative.
All videos must be two minutes long, and the deadline for entries is February 15, 2008. Winners will be recognized and receive an award. The winning videos may be distributed through SkillsUSA outlets. To participate, download the contest rules and release forms by visiting the following link: http://www.skillsusa.org/compete/schooltubevid.shtml
Legislative Update
Recently, State Director Peter Carey wrote Senator Frank Lautenberg regarding funding for Career and Technical Student Organizations. The following is a response from Senator Lautenberg:
"Thank you for contacting me about the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Appropriations bill for Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education (H.R. 3043). I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
As you know, this extensive spending bill provides funding for three major federal departments and fourteen related agencies, including the Social Security Administration and the National Institutes of Health. The appropriations included in this legislation are used to fund a variety of important domestic programs, including student aid initiatives and medical research programs.
In early November, the House and Senate passed a bipartisan Labor-HHS-Education spending bill. This legislation sought to increase appropriations for hundreds of vital programs that have received insufficient funding over the last few years. This bill would have expanded current research efforts for a number of widespread and debilitating diseases, and funded nearly 600 new research grants at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It also would have raised the maximum Pell grant to $4,925 and increased funding for children's immunization programs, community health centers, health training programs, Head Start, and much more.
Unfortunately, President Bush vetoed this legislation on November 13, 2007. I am disappointed that the President would obstruct legislation that would help so many Americans. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I worked hard to ensure that this important bill included an appropriate amount of funding. Please be assured that I will continue working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to pass a Labor-HHS-Education spending bill that includes sufficient funding for health, education, and job training programs."
