Tom Sawyer
In the Trades
So I don't know how many of you guys know what the Skills USA organization is or does but essentially what it is, is a student organization dedicated to promoting personal growth and leadership qualities in todays youth. The primary focus is on high school kids that are enrolled in trades programs like welding, carpentry and such. In fact, there are over 200 different areas of trade skills that are represented by the kids in the organization. Every year, each trade school sends students to state contests that test their academic and trade skills against other schools in the state. My kids do pretty well usually. Two years ago we won the gold and the bronze. Last year we took silver and bronze but this year we walked away with gold, silver and bronze against 5 other plumbing trade schools in the state. So.....we will be off to Kansas City MO. for the national competition. Skills is an amazing opportunity and experience for these kids. It proves that amongst the gangsta's and wanna-be's there are still a core group of dedicated, focused and mature kids out there that will someday be the folks that build our houses, weld our sky scrapers, design our cities and build our future dreams. As an aside, my school also sent two young gentlemen to the state's for cabinet making. A competition we had never entered before. Besides my plumbing team I also coached those guys. They finished Gold and Silver. So.......when you look at the youth of today with despair and mistrust, rest assured that there are still some pretty darn good kids out there.