Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Printing Industries of America contributed to a successful graphic communications contest at the SkillsUSA Championships held June 24–27, in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to helping conduct the national competition, Printing Industries of America sponsored a breakfast for competitors and their advisors and took the students on a tour of a local print facility.

The graphic communications contest required students to create files, preflight them, solve production planning scenarios, print work on sheetfed offset and digital presses, cut and fold paper to specifications, participate in an oral interview, and take an online test to assess their overall graphic communications knowledge.

Remarkably, the contest area was larger than many printing establishments, featuring six digital presses, five sheetfed offset presses, three folders, a programmable cutter, computer workstations, and interview and testing areas. The competitors were joined by judges, committee members, and a gallery of anxious parents and instructors.

The competition committee was chaired by Mike Stinnett, retired educator from Royal Oak (Mich.) High School, and Kip Jarrett of Heidelberg USA. Funding, staff, and equipment were provided by Baumfolder, Boelte-Hall, Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation, Heidelberg USA, Printing Industries of America, R.R. Donnelley, Ricoh USA, Quad/Graphics, and Xerox.    

The 2014 high school medalists in graphic communications:

• Gold—Chandler Kerr, Center of Applied Technology North (Severn, MD)
• Silver—Jackie Nowatarski, Berks Career and Technology Center—West Campus (Leesport, PA)
• Bronze—Kristopher Nixon, Dubiski Career High School (Grand Prairie, TX)

The college/postsecondary medalists:

• Gold—Shelby Johnson, Tulsa Technology Center (Sand Springs, OK)
• Silver—Nathan Ribelin, Riverside Community College (Riverside, CA)
• Bronze—Theresa Calabrese, Coastal Carolina University (Conway, SC)

SkillsUSA is a nonprofit association representing students and advisors in trade, industrial, technical, and health occupational education. The annual championships recognize the achievements of career and technical education students and encourage them to strive for excellence and pride in their chosen occupations. The 2015 Championships will be held June 22–26, in Louisville, Kentucky.