New Jersey SkillsUSA Achieves Great Success at 44th Annual National Leadership & Skills Conference
The New Jersey SkillsUSA delegation, with more than 220 competitors, student delegates and advisors, achieved great success at the National Leadership & Skills Conference. The SkillsUSA Championships is the national-level competition for public high school and postsecondary, college and technical students enrolled in trade, technical, and skilled service profession instructional programs. SkillsUSA organizes this event and it is considered the single greatest day of industry volunteerism in America every year at an estimated cost of $25 million. 

Students worked against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations like electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts. Contests were run with the help of industry, trade associations, and labor organizations, and test competencies are set by industry. SkillsUSA Executive Director Tim Lawrence said, “This event has touched the lives of millions of students and advisors throughout our 43years and is a key part of SkillsUSA's mission.”

The following is a list of students that won a medal during the Conference:

American Spirit (High School)
Gold
Jane Gorski, Isabel Parilis and Kaitlyn M O'Brien
Bergen County Vo-Tech School, Hackensack, NJ

Broadcast News Production (High School)
Silver
Liane Librizzi, Ann DeStefano, Jared Blashinsky and Elias Boujaoude 
Monmouth County Vocational School, Wall, NJ

Cosmetology (College)
Gold
Abby Opdyke
Hunterdon County Polytech Central, Flemington, NJ

Customer Service (High School)
Gold
Demi Fong
Bergen County Vo-Tech School, Hackensack, NJ

Electronics Applications (High School)
Bronze
Dhaval Trivedi
Warren County Tech School, Washington, NJ

Employment Application Process (High School)
Bronze
Jake Checkur
Sussex County Tech School, Sparta, NJ

Entrepreneurship (High School)
Bronze
Cynthnia Garcia, Alexa Dabu, Kapadia Neha and Deonne Francisco
Hudson County School of Technology, Jersey City, NJ

Marine Service Technology (High School)
Silver
Jason Wendling
Gloucester County Institute of Technology, Sewell, NJ

Plumbing (High School)
Silver
Sean Covert
Passaic County AVTS, Wayne, NJ

Plumbing (College)
Silver
Milton Moore Jr.
Camden County Sicklerville, Sicklerville, NJ

Quiz Bowl (High School)
Gold
Zachary S Gozlan, Justin E Churchill, Christopher L Fischer, Devon Moore, Elina Tinfow and
Dylan T Liu
Union County Vo-Tech, Scotch Plains, NJ

Technical Computer Applications (High School)
Gold
Danilo Miranda
Burlington County Westampton, Westampton, NJ

TechPrep-Agricultural, Food and Natural Resources (High School)
Gold
Maria Bender, Jaya Kanduri and Clarissa Lin
Somerset County Vo-Tech, Bridgewater, NJ

TechPrep-Hospitality and Tourism (High School)
Bronze
Alexis Sicklick, Alex Kosma and William Bauer
Bergen County Vo-Tech School, Hackensack, NJ

TechPrep-Human Services (High School)
Silver
Nicole Branda, Julia Cameron and Yelena Yukhvid
Bergen County Vo-Tech School, Hackensack, NJ

TechPrep-Transportation Distribution & Logistics (High School)
Silver
Jonathan Cruz, Jonathan Clifford and David Worden
Vineland High School, Vineland, NJ

The following are a few pictures from the conference.

See more photos from Nationals here.

New Jersey SkillsUSA Announces National Issues Referendum  
To get students actively engaged in the political conference, and to let elected officials know about what the critical issues facing students, the NJ SkillsUSA State Officer Team put forth a referendum at the National Delegate session. The referendum was to select the top five issues facing the student members of SkillsUSA. Representing more then 300,000 members, the delegates researched and discussed a whole host of issues from concerns about the economy and the war in Iraq to the perennial topics of Social Security and the health care system.

The referendum to approve the vote past with an overwhelmingly majority, and at the conclusion of the conference, the student delegates selected the following five issues as the most critical concern:

1. Education
   
2. Environment
   
3. Energy
   
4. Health Care
   
5. Social Security

State President Isabel Parilis, who put forth the referendum on behalf of New Jersey, was pleased with the outcome. “Having a motion pass at the SkillsUSA National High School Delegate Session is a great accomplishment for not only the 2008-2009 State Officer Team but for NJ SkillsUSA as well. It really highlighted our state on the national level, as state officers, state advisors/directors and national officers recognized us for our achievements. On a personal note, it was an incredible experience to be able to speak in front of a national delegation of students. It was also very rewarding to receive thanks and congratulations from advisors, national officers and even a Congressman from Washington State.” 

State Director Peter Carey had words of praise for the team. “Each State Officer represented New Jersey with incredible professionalism, integrity, and enthusiasm. I am pleased that our referendum was a success and I am looking forward to a very successful year with this talented group.”

SkillsUSA Delegates from New Jersey  debating the issues.

New Jersey Teachers & Business & Industry
Leaders Assist with National SkillsUSA Conference 
The 44thAnnual National Leadership & Skills Conference could not have been successful without the support of the National Education Team. The purpose of the National Education Team is to (1) assist the national technical committees in conducting and managing the SkillsUSA Championships and (2) communicate industry expectations for the quality of instruction and professional development in occupational areas represented in the SkillsUSA Championships to advisors. NET members may also be called upon throughout the year for expertise in their assigned area.

The following individuals served on the National Education Team, and assisted the National Technical Committee: 

Sheila Rick, Middlesex County Vo-Tech (retired)
Doug Meier, Burlington County Tech
John Rick, former SkillsUSA Alumni Executive Director 
Howard Pollenberg, Ocean County Vo-Tech
Tom Haas, Camden County Vo-Tech
Anna Cacciatori, Burlington County Tech
Nancy Fissell, Cape May County Tech

The following individuals served on the National Technical Committee:

Jack Sukala, J. Jeb Mfg. Co
Robert Hahn, Somerset County Vo-Tech

New Jersey SkillsUSA & OSHA Create Alliance
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and New Jersey SkillsUSA created an Alliance to provide teens with information, guidance and access to training resources that will help teens protect their health and safety, particularly in reducing and preventing exposure to workplace hazards. This collaborative relationship will help foster safer and more healthful American workplaces. The Alliance will focus on reducing and preventing exposure to potential hazards associated with unguarded machinery, including prevention of amputation hazards, general housekeeping related to slips, trips and falls, as well as noise, and blood borne pathogens. 

Joining NJ SkillsUSA in the Alliance with OSHA are the following organizations:

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
The Connecticut Department of Labor
New York SkillsUSA
Connecticut SkillsUSA

OSHA’s Alliances provides an opportunity for all involved to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with OSHA for purposes such as training and education, outreach and communication and promoting a national dialogue on workplace safety and health. Earlier in the year, students from several NJ SkillsUSA chapters demonstrated safe work practices at OSHA’s 2008 Teen Summer Job Safety Campaign kick-off in Rockefeller Plaza.

NJ Union Carpenter Apprentice Skills Competition
On June 14, 2008, in Atlantic City, NJ, the Union Carpenter Apprentice Skills competition was held at the Atlantic City Convention Center. 50 Carpenter Apprentices competed in a day-long series of hands-on projects that included building mock-ups focused on wood and metal framing, drywall and interior systems, flooring-wood, carpet and vinyl, concrete form work and cabinetry. In addition to the live competition, the Convention Hall had 27 sponsor exhibitors.

Publicity of National Contest Medalists  
SkillsUSA has developed a template to be used by state association directors, instructors, advisors and others to get the word out to the media about the students who participated in any way during the SkillsUSA Championships. The news release can be sent to local media through the advocacy site five outlets at a time. The release can also be sent to Senators and a Representative. The site can be reached by going to http://www.skillsusa.org/about/policy.shtml and clicking on advocacy site. We encourage advisors and teachers to use this valuable tool to let the media know about their students!

National Mock Election 
New Jersey SkillsUSA is proud to announce that is will be a participant in the National Mock Election during the Fall Leadership Conference. The National Student/Parent Mock Election is working with Google and School Perceptions to educate and engage American students in the 2008 Presidential election. The national voter education program for K-12 students gives young Americans the chance to make their voices heard in the electoral process. The Mock Election will take place on October 30, five days before the rest of America votes in the November election. Real time results will be displayed on a Google Map. 

State Director Peter Carey said, “The Mock Election is a great opportunity for SkillsUSA students to become educated and get involved in this year’s presidential election.” The Fall Leadership conference will be centered on various issues and the upcoming election.

SkillsUSA Alumni Outreach
Do you remember what it was like being a member of SkillsUSA or VICA? For most of our former members, there are some special memories. Alumni members tell us they valued the sense of belonging and support they felt, the special relationships with teachers, school administrators and technical advisors, the excitement of the competitions, the team spirit and camaraderie with other SkillsUSA members. They saw and did things they'd never seen and done before. They felt they were part of an organization made just for them.

We are hoping your membership was a special time for you, too. We hope you believe your SkillsUSA involvement made a significant change in your life. We also hope there is a part of you that still wants some level of involvement with an organization that played an important role in your life.  If so, we'd like to invite you to join nine million other former members in a SkillsUSA alumni membership. Right now, you have so much you could bring to our organization, we're extending a free membership to the SkillsUSA Alumni & Friends Association that will continue free of charge as long as you renew your membership annually.

Visit the following link to be apart of the SkillsUSA Alumni!

http://skillsusa.org/supporters/alumnijoin.shtml.