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JVS Students Winners in Kansas City

Three Upper Valley JVS students were competitors and top finishers at the 46th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference held in Kansas City, Missouri on June 21-June 25. These students joined more than 5,600 outstanding career and technical education students from every state and three territories to compete "hands-on" in one of 96 different trade, technical and leadership contest areas. More than 14,000 students, teachers and business partners were in attendance at the week-long event.

Wyatt Knick, son of Gary and Jamie Knick is a 2010 Bradford graduate from the Auto Collision Repair program. He earned a first place "Gold" finish in the Automotive Refinishing Technology competition. This contest includes a series of workstations designed to assess skills in surface preparation; spray gun operation; paint mixing, matching and applying; solving paint application problems; determining finish defects, causes and cures; and utilizing safety precautions. He also completed an interview, a written estimate and an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) written exam. In recognition of Knick’s first-place finish, he was also given a "Gold" medal to present to his Auto Collision Repair instructor Frank Anthony of Houston. This fall, he plans to attend Ohio Technical College in Cleveland on a scholarship he received from the school as a result of his technical skill accomplishments in the automotive refinishing area.


Wyatt Knick and Auto Collision Repair Instructor Frank Anthony

Cierra Woodard, a Cosmetology student and 2010 Houston graduate placed fourth in the Nail Care Competition. She is the daughter of Anthony and Crystal Mills. The purpose of this contest is to evaluate each contestant’s preparation for employment and to recognize outstanding performance and professionalism in the field of nail technology. The competition consisted of six separate segments—oral communication skills, acrylic application, tip and wrap application, nail polish application, nail art pedicuring and a written exam to test basic knowledge of proper sanitation, chemical safety, salon procedures, etc. Woodard is a licensed cosmetologist employed at Giacomo’s A Salon and Spa, Inc., Troy.

Eric Mayberry is a 2010 Houston graduate from the Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning and Refrigeration program. He finished fifth in the Sheet Metal competition and was tested on his ability to perform tasks such as connecting sheet metal pieces with drive cleats, spot welding and riveting. Skills evaluated included straight duct, transition fitting and 45-degree entry tap fitting. Professional sheet metal workers judged contestants on the use of hand tools, correctness of layout and shop safety procedures. Competitors were also judged on accuracy, completeness, and craftsmanship. Mayberry is the son of Todd and Sherri Bryant. He is currently employed at H. J. Becker Company, Dayton, and is enrolled with Dayton Sheetmetal Union Local #24 working on his Journeyman’s certification.

Three other JVS students also attended the conference. Amanda Flory, a current Cosmetology senior from Newton served as a model for the Nail Care Competition. Her parents are Byron and April Flory.

Adrian Helton, a Computer Assisted Drafting and Design (CADD) senior attended the conference as an Ohio SkillsUSA officer (Ambassador). He is from Sidney and is the son of Althea Helton.

Megan Myers served as voting delegates at the conference. She is a Sidney student and will be a senior in the CADD program this fall. Her mother is Lisa Jones.

SkillsUSA is a national non-profit organization for career technical students training for careers in trade, industrial, technical and health related occupations. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and business industry working together to insure America has a skilled workforce.

Deb Luellen, Sidney; Scott Nail, Springfield; and Tony Trapp, Piqua serve as SkillsUSA advisors and accompanied the students to Missouri.