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Dear Directors/Advisors:
Welcome back to school! I trust that you had both an exciting and a restful summer. I just wanted to contact you all with what SkillsUSA RI has been up to this summer and what is to come this fall.
If you do not already know that the SkillsUSA RI office has moved to a new location, we are located in office number 0072 which is in the office suite of the Vice President for Student Affairs. Please note that our office and fax numbers have not changed.
Our state officer team has been through our intense leadership training and they are an impressive group of students. They started the summer with State Officer 101/201 training, continued with our two day officer training, and are gearing up for their trip to Washington D.C. for the Washington Leadership Training Institute (WLTI). Please remember that this trip is scheduled for September 19-23.
In addition, the slate of officers has decided their roles on the team. They are as follows:
President – Jintana Souvannavongsa – Woonsocket
Vice President – Forrest Smith – Warwick
Secretary – Rachel Wilkinson – Chariho
Treasurer – Anthony Catanzaro – Cranston
Parliamentarian – Ashley Higgins – Davies
Reporter – Melissa Paiva-Haworth – East Providence
This past August I gave a presentation on fundraising at our State Director’s Summer Conference. I talked a lot about some of the interesting and innovative projects that our chapters are organizing. At the State Director’s Meeting, SkillsUSA Rhode Island was recognized as the runner up for the 2009 Best of Brand Award. We also presented to 60 of our state’s guidance counselors at the 2009 RISCA Summer Conference. I was also invited to speak to the new teachers at the Providence Career and Technical Academy.
SkillsUSA has announced this year’s Championship’s theme. It is “SkillsUSA: Champions at Work – Connecting the Opportunities.” This is the theme for the Chapter Display, Prepared Speech and Promotional Bulletin Board contests. We will also use this theme for our Web Design contest.
Our Advisory Board will meet as listed below. All of the Advisory Board meetings will begin at 3:30 pm. It is important that you attend all of these meetings. Additional meetings may be scheduled by the Executive Committee.
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
- Rosters are due at this time
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
- Contest Updates and Information
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
- Registrations Due
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
- National Conference Payment
In October, we have our 2nd Annual State wide SkillsUSA RI Community Service Project. The American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk is scheduled for Sunday, October 25th. Last year we had over 100 participants, and we raised $2,700. More information will be provided at our first advisory board meeting.
Our fall conference will be scheduled for early November. Please do not go by the date listed on the website. Finalized details will be given at our first advisory board meeting.
If you would like me to come to your school to talk about SkillsUSA, please contact me as soon as possible. Your state officers have been trained on how to address their classmates, so feel free to tap that resource.
Membership last year was a total of 6,175 for Rhode Island. The highest in our history! I anticipate that we will have another record year in membership for 2009/2010. SkillsUSA RI cannot function without the support and dedication it receives from our teachers and directors. Thank you so much for the important work that you do for the students in career and technical education.
Sincerely,
Joshua Klemp
State Association Director
SkillsUSA Rhode Island
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Advisors / Teachers
