Virginia Brings Home the Medal

SkillsUSA Champions: The Emerging Leaders of our Industry 

Last week in Louisville, Kentucky hundreds of Virginia students were putting it all on the line as they showcased their skilled talent on the SkillsUSA competition floor. The National Leadership and Skills Competition drew over 16,000 attendees and competitors. Of the thousands of students competing, Virginia was represented in the construction cluster events by 15 Virginia State Competition 1st place winners – and they were hungry for more!

Three days of testing, interviews, and a hands-on project all led to an electric awards ceremony on Friday night. I am pleased to announce that all our hopefuls performed extremely well. Beyond that, two of our Construction Cluster competitors were honored with the coveted hardware!

Congratulations to Tyler Shanley (Bedford Science and Tech Center) for bringing home the bronze in Building Maintenance.

Congratulations to Elijah Williams (Triplett Business and Tech Institute) for snatching the Silver in Masonry.

Virginia also now has two of our very own SkillsUSA National Officers that round out an elite team of 15 students. Hunter Radford is a carpentry student who has secured a seat in this esteemed peer-selected position. These students represent our industry and they represent it well.

Special thanks to Jenny Stadheim with the Central/Roanoke Districts and Missy Gupton with the Piedmont/Valley Districts for financially supporting these students in there National endeavors. How great to have our AGCVA thumbprint on these Champions at Work!