The winners of the annual SkillsUSA Championships in CHAPTER DISPLAY were announced last week at the Awards Ceremony of the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference. The Conference was held June 23 - June 27, 2012, at the Municipal Auditorium, the Kemper Arena, H. Roe Bartle Hall, the downtown Marriott and the downtown Crowne Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. Over 5,600 outstanding career and technical education students joined in the excitement of hands on competition in 94 different trade, technical, and leadership fields.

Working against the clock and each other, the participants proved their expertise in job skills for occupations such as electronics, technical drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts. There were also competitions in leadership skills, such as extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings by parliamentary procedures.

SkillsUSA is the national organization for students in trade, industrial, technical and health occupations education. It sponsors the SkillsUSA Championships annually to recognize the achievements of career and technical education students and to encourage them to strive for excellence and pride in their chosen occupations.

The contests are designed and planned by representatives of labor and management. Contests test the skills needed for a successful entry-level performance in occupations. The non-occupationally-specific leadership contests represent a variety of communications, goal setting and teamwork skills -- all geared to enhance a student's qualities of leadership, responsibility, and character. A short video about the National Leadership and Skills Conference is available online at http://tinyurl.com/7rbzc96.

Chapter Display student contestants construct a promotional exhibit. The display is built around and articulates a common theme established annually by SkillsUSA. The contest involves a team of no more than three students setting up the display and one student presenting information about the display in a presentation/interview. The judges select the most outstanding presentations and exhibits.

The chairman of the national technical committee for Chapter Display is John Scott (Ga.).

A national education team assists the national technical committee. Members include Co-Chair Christine Harden, Georgia Piedmont Technical College (Ga.); Co-chair Billy Prevatte (N.C.); Greg Bauer, Clinton Technical School (Mo.); Thomas Haas, Camden County Technical School (N.J.); and, Lynn Tanner, Moultrie Technical College (Ga.).

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. also support the contest.

SkillsUSA helps students discover and grow their career passions. As a nationwide partnership of students, instructors and industry working together, SkillsUSA works to ensure America has a skilled workforce. It helps every student excel. The nationwide career and technical education (CTE) student organization serves more than 320,000 high school, college and postsecondary students—and their instructors—in technical, skilled, and service occupation instructional programs. CTE is learning that works for America. SkillsUSA has the active support of more than 1,100 corporations, trade associations, business and labor unions at the national level. Over 10.5 million people have been annual members of SkillsUSA since its founding as The Vocational Industrial Clubs of America in 1965. SkillsUSA programs teach leadership, citizenship and character development to complement technical skill training. The organization emphasizes respect for the dignity of work, ethics, workmanship, scholarship and safety.