Tri-Cities

Brandon Woody of Colonial Heights, Virginia, won the SkillsUSA state competition in Job Skills Demonstration “B"- Restorative Art. The competition was recently held in Richmond on May 10, 2007. Brandon is a graduating senior at Colonial Heights High School.

As gold medalist, he also won the right of heading to Kansas City, Missouri to compete in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference which was held June 2829, 2007. During the national competition, he continued to display his leadership skills and was the national Bronze medalist for Job Skill Demonstration “B” Restorative Art.

We are very proud of Brandon’s accomplishments,” said Francene Green, Brandon’s advisor at Colonial Heights High School. “He is a true champion in his dedication to excellence and in his leadership skills.

“Competing in Kansas City was a week I will never forget,” said Brandon. “Being part of SkillsUSA has given me the skills and knowledge to chart my career path,” Brandon said.

The SkillsUSA National Championships were held on Thursday, June 28 in H.Roe Bartle Hall, American Royal and Municipal Auditorium. More than 5,000 outstanding career and technical education students—all state contest winners—competed handson in 87 different trade, technical and leadership fields. Students worked against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as electronics, computeraided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting, culinary arts and job skills demonstrations. Leadership contestants demonstrated skills including extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings by parliamentary procedure.

SkillsUSA is a national partnership of students, teachers and industry, working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA chapters help students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations excel. Formerly known as VICA (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America) SkillsUSA has more than 280,000 students and instructors as members annually.