Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s 2016 SkillsUSA TeamWorks members Bo Dooley, left, and Burt Burns look over plans for a phase of their gold medal winning state competition project constructed in Atlanta last week. In the background, from left, is Tanner Boyd and Barry Arrington working on the wiring for their entry.
Georgia Northwestern Technical College students Barry Arrington of Calhoun; Tanner Boyd of Armuchee, Ga.; Bo Dooley of Calhoun; Burt Burns of Lindale, Ga.; and Evan Brackett of Rome, Ga. of will be headed to the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Ky. June 21-24. The GNTC team took home top honors in the TeamWorks competition at the State of Georgia SkillsUSA Competition held in Atlanta March 17-19.
“Our team is the first to ever qualify to compete nationally from the state of Georgia,” said GNTC Director of Construction Management Donnie Holmes. “This team had to work together to complete a project from a set of plans that included masonry, carpentry, electrical, and plumbing work. They were so far ahead on their timetable to complete the project that they added on to the plans and still completed the project before the deadline.”
Among the things judges graded the GNTC team based on the college’s Gordon County Campus were working within building codes, jobsite safety and cleanliness, proper use and accountability of tools and equipment, and the overall efficiency of the team project. The SkillsUSA’s competition website states that, “TeamWorks is not only a SkillsUSA competition, but a way of learning… to help maximize their skills for their future.”
The team will represent Georgia Northwestern at the 52nd Annual National Leadership and Skills Conference competition the week of June 22 in Louisville. More than 6,000 (high school and collegiate) students from across the country will compete hands-on in more than a hundred various trade, technical and leadership fields.
“We saw incredible success at the state competition with 15 students earning honors for their respective competition,” said GNTC SkillsUSA Coordinator Michael Meyer. “This is a great reflection on the college programs which trained them and the kind of pro-active students these men and women have become.”
Also placing on the state level of SkillsUSA were Tanya Person of Trenton and Ashley Clark of Calhoun (Chapter Display - Bronze), Melisa Fajardo of Dalton (Customer Service - Bronze), Jacob Prater of Kingston, Ga. (Electrical Construction Wiring – Silver), Stone Dowling of Chickamauga (Information Technology Systems – Silver), Cougar Roberts of Rossville (Prepared Speech – Silver), Brandy LeVan of Rock Spring (Promotional Bulletin Board – Bronze), Andrew Copeland of LaFayette (Welding – Bronze), and Tyler Daubert of Rome, Ga., Jeremy Duvall of Armuchee, Ga., and Ryan Fincher of Cedartown, Ga. (Welding Fabrication – Silver).
GNTC’s Director of Aviation Maintenance Jon Byrd also took part in this year’s event serving as a judge for Georgia’s SkillsUSA Aviation Maintenance competition. For more information, contact 706.764-3588 for the GNTC SkillsUSA Coordinator Michael Meyer. Or, send an e-mail to mmeyer@gntc.edu.
Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s 2015 Skills USA bronze medal winner Andrew Copeland takes part in the Georgia SkillsUSA Conference’s heavy equipment demonstration area during last week’s conference in Atlanta