Franklin County Technical School students recently competed in the Western District SkillsUSA Competition in North Adams, MA where they proudly came away with 2 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals. They competed against seven other schools and a total of 443 students.

SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations. SkillsUSA Massachusetts has grown to over 25,000 participants state wide.

Gold medals went to Justin Skalski from Deerfield for Collision Repair Technology and Michelle Bills from Montague for Customer Service. Silver medals went to Jay Clark from Deerfield for Automotive Service Technology, Catherine Cronk from Greenfield for First Aid/CPR, Alyssa Lyman from Orange for Food and Beverage Service, and Matthew Rivera from Montague for Sheet Metal. Bronze medals were attained by Joseph LaFleur from Gill for Industrial Motor Control, Jamie Rice from Greenfield for Nursing Assisting, and Raegene Abbot from Northfield for Welding.

All the gold and silver medal winners will advance to the SkillsUSA State Leadership & Skills Conference to be held April 30 – May 2 in Marlboro, MA. All gold medal state winners will then advance to the national competition to be held in Kansas City, MO.

March 2009

Patrick Hanas, a 2008 graduate of the Franklin County Technical School, returned home exhausted from his final high school competition with a SkillsUSA national champion’s silver medal tucked away in his bags. Hanas, a Conway resident and a graduate of the Culinary Arts program, had placed 2nd in the nation within the highly competitive Action Skills event. This event brings the finest public speakers who provide live demonstrations within a trade area. Along with him was Hope Martin, a Greenfield resident who is also a 2008 graduate of the Tech School’s Culinary Arts program, competed in the Food & Beverage Service competition.

Held in Kansas City, Missouri each year, the SkillsUSA Championships is considered the largest single day of corporate volunteerism in America and can claim $33 million in industry support of donated time, equipment, cash and material during the weeklong event. All contests are run and judged by industry experts using industry’s standards for employment. Over 500 judges participated this year.

“The magnitude of this conference blew me away,” said Anthony McIntosh, co-advisor, welding and metal fabrication instructor, and alumnus of FCTS. “It was a true salute to career and technical education across America.”

The SkillsUSA Championships is for high school and college-level students who are members of the national co-curricular organization. More than 5,000 students from every state and three territories competed in 91 contests in technical, skilled, and service occupations, including health occupations this year. In order to qualify for a highly competitive event at the national competition, students must win gold medals within their state’s conference.

June 2008