It’s time for the Tuesday reminder!!!

Yes, today is March 9th and thank you to all of you who have completed your State Conference Registration.

We still have need of more State Officer Candidate Applications, please get them to me fast—the candidates need to attend the Interview this Saturday at 10 AM in Salem.

You’re [...]]]> SkillsUSA Advisors,

It’s time for the Tuesday reminder!!!

Yes, today is March 9^th and thank you to all of you who have completed your State Conference Registration.

We still have need of more State Officer Candidate Applications, please get them to me fast—the candidates need to attend the Interview this Saturday at 10 AM in Salem.

You’re doing a great job—and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!!

It’s Monday morning reminder time!!

Tomorrow evening the Board of Advisors and I will meet to look at the Contest numbers and make decisions on which events have sufficient enrollment and which may not have enough to “go”. There may [...]]]>

SkillsUSA Advisors,

It’s Monday morning reminder time!!

Tomorrow (Tuesday the 9th) at 3:30 PM the State Conference Registration Site will close.

Tomorrow evening the Board of Advisors and I will meet to look at the Contest numbers and make decisions on which events have sufficient enrollment and which may not have enough to “go”. There may be some opportunities to adjust enrollments after this process, depending on the wishes of the Tech Chair. Thank you so much for completing your Registration, it makes my job so much less time consuming—you are all very appreciated,

Just a few reminders, because I just know you need more to think about;

1. The SkillsUSA Membership deadline is coming quickly.  You must have your membership roster in to Nationals and paid for by March 1, 2010 if your students are to compete and especially if they go on to compete [...]]]> SkillsUSA Advisors,

Just a few reminders, because I just know you need more to think about;

1. The SkillsUSA Membership deadline is coming quickly.  You must have your membership roster in to Nationals and paid for by March 1, 2010 if your students are to compete and especially if they go on to compete at the National contest.  Please don’t wait until the last day—you need to log-in to the website, so get started early and then add as needed later in the month.

2. The State Officer experience is a great opportunity for your student leaders—the deadline for applications into the State Office is March 9^th and the Candidate Interview Day is Saturday March 13^th in Salem.  It takes some sacrifice on your part and the parent’s part, but the rewards for the student are great.

3. The members of your Board of Advisors are working extra hard this year to pull together the Spring Conference—if you can offer help to them please contact Bill Cooper the Chairman at bcooper@pps.k12.or.us.

If you need assistance with Membership or Conference or State Officer Candidates, just contact me at 503-385-4637 or e-mail at dick.sherman@wesd.org

I would like to introduce myself, my name is Samantha Phillips, and the purpose for this introduction is that I have been hired as the interim program director for SkillsUSA Oregon.

If you have not heard, Niki Clausen accepted a position with the national SkillsUSA office as the new Alumni Director!  Her position [...]]]> Greetings, SkillsUSA Oregon Advisors,

I would like to introduce myself, my name is Samantha Phillips, and the purpose for this introduction is that I have been hired as the interim program director for SkillsUSA Oregon.

If you have not heard, Niki Clausen accepted a position with the national SkillsUSA office as the new Alumni Director!  Her position began on November 2.  I am sure she will be missed by SkillsUSA Oregon advisors and students.

I have been associated with the CTSO programs here in Oregon for about 10 years.  For 7 of those years I was the program director for Oregon FBLA.  As the interim director for SkillsUSA Oregon I bring with me experience as a program director, I have worked with State Officers, two Boards, and the National Office.  I have successfully planned the fall and state conferences with over 1500 in attendance. I was also instrumental in re-organizing the Oregon FBLA structure by creating a Foundation and recruiting Board members.  Although I have this experience, it is with another organization. And so I ask your patience while I learn the SkillsUSA program and events associated with it. I want to honor the fact that each organization is unique and will do my best to bring this organization success.   I already know I will have tremendous support from the Board of Advisors and the Board of Directors as we successfully host the State leadership conference and Skills events on April 9-10, 2010 in Albany and take our students on to the national level in Kansas City, in June.   I am hoping for your support as well.

As we are painfully aware, the economic times we are currently dealing with are challenging.   As educators you are asked to continue to provide your students with opportunities on extremely limited if non-exiting budgets and time.  I recognize this is what you are faced with and will do whatever I can to help you run your program successfully within those constraints. We all need to think of the positive things that we still have and not get mired down with the negative situation due to these challenging times.  This organization offers so much to the students; leadership and actual hands on competitions.   It is unique among the other organizations. Therefore, I challenge you to continue to support SkillsUSA Oregon as you encourage your students to get involved and use it to the full to make that difference.

Here at the state level we have also been affected drastically by the cuts.  The operation budget for the all 6 CTSO’s was cut by 30% barely giving enough to service all 6 organizations.  As a result, the position I am trying to fill temporarily is now .5fte. (FYI : most all Oregon CTSO organizations are now existing on .5 fte. staffing)  As a result, I will only be working about 20 hours a week; I am in the office Tuesdays and Thursdays most weeks.  But I am available by email all the time.  Please, feel free to communicate with me.   As the conference draws closer, I will be spending more time in the office to get everything done. Please help me learn and we will get though this year and into next while the search is being made for the next permanent director.

I am committed to providing your students the opportunities Skills USA Oregon has to offer. Therefore, please take the time to read though my regular communications ( I promise I will keep them much shorter).  If you have other SkillsUSA Oregon Advisors in your school please check to make sure they too received this communication, if not, please forward it on to them and let me know the name and email address and I will make sure to include them in future communications.

No matter what the economic climate is our students deserve our best.   Please, as a chapter, make use of this program, it is only by your continued support and use of the SkillsUSA program that we can continue to give these unique opportunities to students.

Respectfully,

Samantha Phillips

Welcome back to another school and SkillsUSA year.  I hope the start to your year has been a good and productive one.

SkillsUSA Oregon has experience many changes this summer.  The Student Leadership Development Center, and my office, has moved back across the street at the WESD Marion Center main building.  (Our address and [...]]]> Dear SkillsUSA Advisors

Welcome back to another school and SkillsUSA year.  I hope the start to your year has been a good and productive one.

SkillsUSA Oregon has experience many changes this summer.  The Student Leadership Development Center, and my office, has moved back across the street at the WESD Marion Center main building.  (Our address and phone number are the same.)  The Coordinator Position has been cut to .5FTE due to Budget Cuts.  On the positive side, the new State Officer Team, Board of Advisors and new Board of Directors are excited about this year and Connecting the SkillsUSA Opportunities.

Attached you will find the Fall Mailer, including the POW Calendar, and Fall Conference Information and Registration Forms. This year’s Oregon Theme is Champion’s at Work: Time for Service.  The State Officers have decided to include a Community Service Canned Food Drive with the Fall Conference Experience.  Please collect canned food and bring it to Fall Conference.  The Chapter with the most food turned in at registration will get a prize!

I look forward to working with you through the coming year.  Please let me know how I can help you with Chapter Activities, Advisor Trainings or any other SkillsUSA Happenings.  My time is limited due to the cut, but I will do my best to insure that the SkillsUSA Oregon Tradition continues strong and major events still occur.

Don’t forget to look at the SkillsUSA Oregon Website (www.oregonskillsusa.com) and the National Website (www.skillsusa.org) for Information – they are great resources.

Please contact me with question and I look forward to seeing you at events throughout the year.

Niki Clausen, State Director 2009

2009_Fall_Conference_Reg_packet

2009_Fall_Conference_Registration_Forms

2009_Fall_Mailer_SkillsUSA

So now you can view OregonSkillsUSA on your Mobile Phone.

Visit http://mobile.nytimes.com using your phone.  Incredibly useful and lightning fast, even when compared to the NYTimes iPhone Application which pales by comparison.