01/08/2018 Message

Happy New Year.  I have listed several items for your consideration as you continue your preparations for our SkillsUSA Utah Leadership and Skills Conference (ULSC). Please read ALL of the information CAREFULLY to avoid any confusion or miscommunication and let us know if you have any questions.
 
Advisor action item: SkillsUSA Membership Registration (change links)EVERY STUDENT COMPETITOR MUST BE REGISTERED AND PAID AS A NATIONAL MEMBER OF SKILLSUSA ON OR BEFORE THE DEADLINE OF FEBRUARY 23, 2018 OR THEY WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO COMPETE IN THE STATE COMPETITION.
 

• Official Membership Registration requires the submission of complete and accurate student information plus full payment of all membership dues by the membership deadline of February 23, 2018.  Students that are not registered and paid members of SkillsUSA will not be allowed to compete at the state conference.  This mandatory registration deadline is required to provide sufficient time for the proper verification of student membership status before the close of state conference registration.

 
While many advisors have already submitted a membership roster of students and advisors from their school, it may be necessary to add new student / professional members, so it is appropriate for us to share the membership registration procedures links) one more time.  
 

1. MEMBERSHIP DEADLINE IN UTAH IS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23TH, 2018
   • Our registration system WILL NOT ALLOW students to register for their Contests until they are a REGISTERED, SUBMITTED, MEMBER of SkillsUSA.
   • Students registered as members after this deadline will not be eligible to compete at the State Conference and they are not eligible for national competition.

 

1. MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED ON THE NATIONAL WEBSITE AT WWW.SKILLSUSA.ORG. 
   • Instructions for the completion of the membership registration on the national website can be found on our STATE WEBSITE (www.utahskillsusa.org) by:
     • Going to our ULSC Page under ‘Membership Registration’ OR  o CLICKING HERE   
     • If you need additional assistance with membership registration, please call the national membership hotline at 844-875-4557, or email them at operators@skillsusa.org.  

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1. MEMBERSHIP DUES:
   • Student Membership Dues are $16.00 for all High School/Secondary and College/Post-Secondary students.
   • Advisor/professional membership dues are $30.00 and includes on-line access to the current Technical Standards. 
   • When you click the final “submit” button on the membership registration site, an invoice will be generated and you must make payment arrangements for this invoice amount.  If you add more members later, an additional invoice will be created, and a second payment will be required.
   • You will need to register a few extra students as members of SkillsUSA in case you need “alternates” or “substitutes” for last minute drop outs and emergencies.  Every year we have to disqualify a few competitive teams because they do not have enough registered members due to last minute issues and emergencies.  It would be prudent to have a few eligible “alternates” registered as members to avoid this problem.
   • Membership dues are paid directly to the National SkillsUSA office in Leesburg, Virginia.  If paying by credit card, payment is completed on-line through the national website.  If paying by check, please include a copy of the invoice with the check and mail them to the address shown on the membership invoice. We have had schools accidently mail their memberships checks to us, just delaying their payment that much longer.

 
SkillsUSA Utah Leadership and Skills Conference:
WHEN: Thursday and Friday, April 12th -13th, 2018
WHERE: Salt Lake Community College, Taylorsville/Redwood Campus, 4700 South Redwood Road, Salt Lake City, Utah  
 
BUSSES & TRANSPORTAION CANCELLED FOR 2018
Due to the very high cost to provide shuttle buses and drivers during the state conference and the extremely low number of riders on the buses during the last two state conference events, the decision has been made to discontinue provided bus transportation service to all contests and events, effective immediately. 
 
Individual districts and/or schools must make the necessary arrangements to transport their students to and from all venues, contest sites and activities during the 2018 SkillsUSA Utah Leadership and Skills Conference.
 
CONTEST STATUS SHEET
The list of state conference contests and the proposed contest sites as presently constituted are available on the our State SkillsUSA Utah website (www.utahskillsusa.org) by:

• Clicking the RED BUTTON under ‘Contest Status Sheet, Updates and Fees’ that says, ‘2018 CONTEST STATUS SHEET’ in the left column of our ULSC Page OR
• CLICK HERE to be routed to our ULSC Page. OR
• Copy and paste the following link into your web browser: https://www.utahskillsusa.org/2018-utah-leadership--skills-competition-ulsc.html

**THIS DOCUMENT IS CONSTANTLY BEING UPDATED WITH NEW DATES, TIMES, LOCATIONS, CONTACT INFORMATION, # OF REGISTRANTS ALLOWED, ETC. PLEASE CHECK IT REGULARLY FOR THE MOST ACCURATE INFORMATION. **
 
CONTEST FEES:
Some state level contests have special contest fees assessed to participants to help offset the cost of contest materials and supplies. This list of contests and the associated fees can be found on the Utah state website by:

• Going to our ULSC Page and clicking the RED BUTTON under ‘Contest Status Sheet, Updates, and Fees’ that says ‘2018 CONTEST FEES’ OR
• CLICKING HERE OR
• Copying the following link to your web browser: https://www.utahskillsusa.org/uploads/8/1/2/7/81273014/fees_for_2018_state_conference.pdf

 
‘GENERAL’ STATE CONFERENCE AGENDA
We are finishing up some last-minute details with the agenda this year, and will be sending it out and posting it to the website ASAP. Some confirmed/discussed changes are as follows:

• Eliminating the Opening Session – We will not be having an Opening Session again this year. We are hoping this will give more time for students and advisors to arrive, check in, and prepare for contests and allow contest hosts more preparation time.
• Time Changes for a few Contests – Because we are removing the opening session, and to give plenty of time for tabulating scores, etc. We are seeing if we can move some of the more time-consuming contests from Friday, to Thursday, or earlier on Thursday. We are still working with the Contest Cluster Chairs, Ed Team Leaders, and Tech Committee to see if this is possible.
  • Please check the CONTEST STATUS SHEET REGULARLY for updates and we will also send out email updates when these decisions are confirmed.

 
Theme:
The SkillsUSA competition theme for the 2017-18 year is:
SkillsUSA: Champions at Work, Job-Ready Day One
The SkillsUSA competition theme is used throughout the year as the topic to be addressed by contestants in the Chapter Display, Prepared Speech and Promotional Bulletin Board competitions at local, state and national levels.
The topic to be addressed by contestants in the Chapter Display, Prepared Speech and Promotional Bulletin Board competitions is how our theme, “SkillsUSA: Champions at Work, Job-Ready Day One,” addresses the SkillsUSA program of work in the area of professional development.

• Additional suggestions for contestants can be found on our national website at
  https://www.skillsusa.org/about/theme/  OR

• Go to the national website at www.skillsusa.org and type “theme” in the search box.

  
Contest Updates:
To view contest updates you can:

• Go to: https://2018contestupdates.blogspot.com/ OR
• Go to our State Website (www.utahskillsusa.org) and hover your mouse over the ‘CONFERENCES & EVENTS’ option on our top menu. This will produce a short drop-down menu where you can locate and click ‘2018 CONTEST

UPDATES’ OR

• Go to our ULSC Page and click the RED BUTTON under ‘Contest Status Sheet, Updates & Fees’ that says ‘2018 CONTEST UPDATES’

 
All Contest Updates for the 2018 SkillsUSA Utah Leadership and Skills Competition will be posted through this Page. On the right side of the page you can sign up to receive emails whenever a Contest is Updated. This will sign you up to receive emails for ALL contests. There is not a way to subscribe to a specific contest. If you do not want to receive emails, just check the page on your own, and often.
 
To view updates, click on the name of a specific contest from the alphabetized list on the right side of the webpage to view updates for that contest.
 
State Conference Registration:
Due to an unusually high number of student disqualifications in previous years from a lack of National Membership Registration plus a significant number of membership registrations that were submitted after the state membership deadline, major changes have been made to the 2018 State Conference Deadline calendar and a Financial Penalty has been added for late registrations.  
 
With the New State Conference Registration System we implemented last year on the National SkillsUSA website, student contestants MUST BE REGISTERED, SUBMITTED members of SkillsUSA BEFORE they will be able to register for any contest at the State Competition.
 
The 2018 SkillsUSA Utah Leadership and Skills Conference registration costs and deadlines are as follows: 

• Monday, January 29th - Friday, February 16th, 2018: Regular Registration o $40 Per Student Contestant o $20 Per Advisor
• Saturday, February 17th – Friday, February 23rd, 2018: Late Registrations o $70 per Student Contestant ($40 registration fee + $30.00 late fee per contestant) o $50 Advisor Registration ($20 registration fee + $30.00 late fee per Advisor) 

o The new system does not allow ‘special circumstances’ or ‘refunds’ for late registrations.
  
Registration Procedure for SkillsUSA Utah Leadership and Skills Conference:
The ULSC Registration procedure is the same system that was introduced last year. The Walk-through for Contest Registration Procedures can be found on our State Website (www.utahskillsusa.org) by:

• Going to our ULSC page, under ‘Contest Registration’ clicking the ‘Contest Registration Walkthrough’ Button. OR
• CLICKING HERE to be routed to the walk-through OR
• Copying and Pasting the following Links into your web browser: https://www.utahskillsusa.org/uploads/8/1/2/7/81273014/how_to_register_for_skillsusa_ulsc.pdf

 
*MODELS: Models will not be required to register for contests this year. Contestants that need a model will need to remember to bring someone with them.  It is preferred that the model be a Member of SkillsUSA, but it is not required.
 
*ALTERNATES: Alternates will be utilized differently this year.

• You will need to register a few extra ‘Alternate’ students as MEMBERS OF SKILLSUSA by the February 23rd Deadline. You WILL NOT need to register them for a contest. 
• After you have REGISTERED, SUBMITTED, AND PAID for the memberships of however many students you choose to have as ‘Alternates’, if you need to substitute them in for a contestant that drops out, all you will have to do is email Angelee Day at angelee.day@gmail.com with the following information:

 

• The First and Last name, the school name, and which contest the ORIGINAL Contestant is Registered for
• The First and Last name of the Alternate, Registered, Submitted, Paid, SkillsUSA Student Member from your school you would like to replace the original contestant.

 
She will make the substitution for you through the conference registration website, and send a confirmation email when it is completed.
 
Invoices and Billing for SkillsUSA Utah Leadership and Skills Conference:
BILLING QUESTIONS/TO PAY VIA CREDIT CARD:

• Contact Jennifer Streker - (801)540-4342 - strekerj@gmail.com
• *There is a 3% Fee if you choose to pay your invoice via Credit Card

 
Please mail all payments/invoices and correspondence to:
 
               SkillsUSA Utah
                 Attn: Richard Wittwer
                 4318 West 1275 South
                 Cedar City, Utah 84720
 
***PLEASE INCLUDE A COPY OF YOUR SCHOOL’S INVOICE(S) FOR ULSC WITH YOURCHECK OR PURCHASE ORDER TO ENSURE PROPER RECORDS/DEPOSITS/PAYMENTS ARE COMPLETED. 
 
Advisor Action Item: SkillsUSA Knowledge TestThe SkillsUSA knowledge test for all student contestants will be administered on-line prior to the state conference event.  The test will be available March 5th – April 10th through an on-line testing website, so accurate student names and email addresses are critical to enable students to log-in and take the knowledge test.  Details will be forthcoming in the near future.
  
Advisor Action Item: Contest Clothing
There are specific clothing requirements for each contest at both the state and national conferences.  Specific contest clothing requirements can be found in the 2017-18 National Leadership and Skills Conference Technical Standards. All student contestants must be wearing the specified clothing during state conference competition events to avoid a clothing penalty.  Advisors, please make arrangements to obtain the appropriate clothing from the SkillsUSA Store, located on the national SkillsUSA website.
 
2017-2018 Technical StandardsAccess to the Technical Standards is provided to every SkillsUSA advisor with a Paid Professional Membership Registration through the National Website.  Advisors can access the Technical Standards by following the instructions provided by:

• Clicking ‘How to Access Tech Standards’ under the ‘Important Forms and Documents’ heading on either the Home Page, Advisor Page, or under ‘Technical Standards’ on our ULSC Page of our State Website (www.utahskillsusa.org) OR
• CLICKING HERE OR
• Copying and Pasting the Following Link into your web browser: https://www.utahskillsusa.org/uploads/8/1/2/7/81273014/how_to_access_technical_standards_2016-2017.pdf

 
Advisor Action Item: Chapter Excellence Program (CEP)The national SkillsUSA Chapter Excellence Program or CEP is a voluntary recognition program designed to recognize the many wonderful local SkillsUSA students/chapters that excel in community service, professional development and career preparation activities.  

• The CEP Teacher’s Guide (http://www.skillsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/CEP-Teachers-Guide.pdf) that includes all of the information and application documents can be found at (http://skillsusa.org/?s=CEP), or go to the national website and type CEP in the search bar.   
• As stated earlier, this is a voluntary participation activity.  There is a significant application procedure, an application deadline and numerous activities that must be completed to qualify for this chapter recognition.

 
Advisor Action Item: Utah National Conference Pin and T-Shirt Design requestAdvisor’s, please encourage your registered SkillsUSA students to submit designs for the Utah state pin and Utah state t-shirt that will be worn by all Utah participants at the national conference in Louisville, Kentucky.  The designs should feature something unique about our great state and must include the phrase “SkillsUSA Utah 2018.” 

• WHO: The designs submitted must be the work of a high school or college student member of SkillsUSA. 
• FORMAT: All designs must be submitted in a PDF format 
• DUE DATE: TBD
• SUBMIT TO: TBD
• PRIZE: A cash award will be provided for each of the winning designs.

 
DUE DATE AND WHERE TO SUBMIT WILL BE DETERMINED ASAP!
WE WILL POST ON WEBSITE AND SEND OUT AND UPDATE WHEN AVAILABLE!
 
Advisor Action Item: State Officer CandidatesAdvisors, if you have dedicated and energetic SkillsUSA student members at your school that love the SkillsUSA organization and are looking to move to the next level of service, please have them consider running for a position on our state officer team during our upcoming state conference event.  We need additional high school and college level student officers to lead this student organization.  
 
The application can be found on our State Website (www.utahskillsusa.org) by:

• Going to our Top Menu and hovering over About Us, then going to ‘Organization’ from the drop-down menu, then going down to and clicking on ‘Student Offer Team’ from the submenu. On the bottom-right of the Student Officer Team Page, click ‘Apply Now’ and complete the online form. OR
• CLICK HERE to be taken directly to the form OR
• Copy and paste the following link into your web browser: http://www.utahskillsusa.org/student-officer-application.html  

 Calendar Reminders:

• Monday, January 29th, 2018 - SkillsUSA Utah Leadership and Skills Championships (ULSC) registration begins
• Friday, February 16th, 2018 - Regular ULSC Registration Deadline
• Saturday, Feb. 17th - Friday, Feb. 23rd, 2018 - State Conference Late Registration Fee Assessed ($30 per Registrant)
• Friday, February 23, 2018 - 2017-2018 Utah State Membership Deadline
• Friday, February 23, 2018 - 2017-2018 National SkillsUSA Membership Deadline
• Thursday, March 1, 2018 - Chapter Excellence Program (CEP) applications/documentation due to the state director.
• Friday, March 2, 2018 - Chapter Excellence Program (CEP) applications/documentation due to the SkillsUSA national office.
• March 5 - April 10th, 2018 - SkillsUSA Knowledge on-line test available (Details TBA)
• Friday, March 23rd, 2018 - SkillUSA ULSC substitute/drop deadline (No drop refunds after this date)
• Friday, March 30th, 2018 - SkillUSA Utah Leadership and Skills Championships payment deadline
• Tuesday, April 10th, 2018 - SkillsUSA Knowledge on-line testing ends.
• April 12th-13th, 2018 - SkillsUSA Utah Leadership and Skills Championships at SLCC, Salt Lake City, Utah

FINAL REMARKSI know this is a lot to take in, and even more to implement in the last two months before the membership/state conference registration deadlines.  Advisors, thank you so much for your dedicated service as educators and SkillsUSA advisors.
 
Warm regards,
 
Richard Wittwer
SkillsUSA Utah State Director