CALHOUN, GA — Career and Technical Education students from across Gordon County Schools brought home top honors and several state medals from the 2023 Georgia State Leadership and Skills Conference held at the Georgia World Congress Center this past weekend.
The annual SkillsUSA conference was a showcase of Career and Technical Education (CTE) students in our state where twenty-seven outstanding Gordon County Schools students competed in fifteen different trade and technical events.
During the state SkillsUSA competition, the CTE students worked against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as electrical wiring, carpentry, masonry, plumbing, videography, scriptwriting, automotive servicing, and technology. All contests are run by SkillsUSA with the help of industry, trade associations and labor organizations, testing competencies set by industry. Top student winners received gold, silver, and bronze medallions. Many also received prizes such as tools of their trade and scholarships to further their careers and education. The annual championships event is for middle school, high school and college-level students who are members of SkillsUSA.
State first-place (gold medal) winners are eligible to compete at the national SkillsUSA Championships, which will be held in Atlanta in June. The following students at the 2023 state conference had outstanding accomplishments:
Gold Medalists and State Champions
- Jeffrey Fraire, Masonry, Gordon Central High School
- Jayden Sibley, Industrial Motor Control, Gordon Central High School
Silver Medalists
- Meadow Trimble, Single Script Short Film, Sonoraville High School
- Joshua Echevarria, Single Script Short Film, Sonoraville High School
- Laynie Nix, Single Script Short Film, Sonoraville High School
- Isabelle Fantom, Single Script Short Film, Sonoraville High School
- Cloe Silvers, Single Script Short Film, Sonoraville High School
Bronze Medalists
- Chapel Parr, Drywall, Gordon Central High School
- Wesley Garcia, Drywall, Gordon Central High School
Pictured Above: SkillsUSA Competitors from Gordon Central High School
Pictured Above: Sonoraville High School SkillsUSA students that placed in Single Script Short Film
About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen our nation’s skilled workforce. Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA helps students develop necessary personal and workplace skills along with technical skills grounded in academics. This SkillsUSA Framework empowers every student to succeed at work and in life, while helping to close the skills gap in which millions of positions go unfilled. Through SkillsUSA’s championships program and curricula, employers have long ensured schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSA’s new credentialing process, they can now assess how ready potential employees are for the job. SkillsUSA has members nationwide in high schools, colleges and middle schools, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and is recognized by the U.S. departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education. We have served 14.2 million members since 1965. For more information: www.skillsusa.org.
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About Gordon County Schools
Gordon County Schools system serves approximately 6,500 students in schools across the county including six elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools. The mission of the Gordon County School system is to build a collaborative culture that engages all students and staff in learning experiences leading to growth, empowerment, and transformation.
Contact at Gordon County Schools:
Kendra Pannell
Communications Coordinator
Email: kpannell@gcbe.org
Phone: (706) 629-7366 ext. 8151
Website: www.gcbe.org