I just got back from the best week. I took about five hundred pictures at the biggest technical education competition in the country. In fact, SkillsUSA/VICA is an international competition as well, and the US brought home two medallists and four certificates. Not bad for us hmm?

Let me tell you a little about SkillsUSA/VICA. SkillsUSA/VICA was originally just VICA; Vocational Industrial Clubs of America. Or something like that anyhow? One big thing that I should mention historically is that in 1991 the SkillsUSA-VICA sent someone to Amsterdam for the International Youth Skill Olympics. He won the first gold medal in welding for the US AND obtained the most points in any contest of the IYSO since it's founding.

Currently there are about 75 competitions of almost every technical field imaginable: some of the ones more up our street are graphics communications, photography, technical computer applications, principles of technology and computer maintenance technology. But there are vast others: Criminal Justice, Basic Nursing, Cosmetology, Automotive Repair, Masonry, Welding, Plumbing, to name just a few.

For this last week I have spent taking pictures and talking to some of the over four thousand competitors and numerous more advisors, participants, and majour company sponsors. This competition is the cream of tomorrow's technical workers, the top two percent. Almost every single one of the competitors; both high school and technical college students, will go on to have hugely successful careers.

So... I guess what I really want to say is that I had a wonderful week, but I am glad to be back, and back online. I met many great people, and my state (Maine) had four medallists, but nothing beats coming home to one's computer.

I wanted to share this with you, so that it might interest you a little and maybe convince you to look into SkillsUSA/VICA even on the local level. Winners get scholarships, prizes, jobs? tons of stuff. And it really is a lot of fun. I had to get a second duffel bag for all the free stuf I got! For more information, and some of the pictures that were taken this week go to: http://www.skillsusa.org/