National contest supports the education of next generation of imagers

Fairfax, Virginia - SkillsUSA, a national organization serving educators and students as they prepare to enter technical occupations, recently hosted the 51st annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. Student winners walked away with thousands of dollars in prizes — and the sought-after championship title.

“Because of their partnership, SGIA industry development initiatives dovetail nicely with the mission of the SkillsUSA organization in providing a skilled workforce. By leading the Screen Printing Technology and Graphic Imaging — Sublimation competitions, we can assure that competition standards align with industry needs,” said Johnny Shell, SGIA’s Vice President of Technical Service.

More than 6,000 outstanding career and technical education students — all state contest winners — competed in 100 different trade, technical and leadership fields. Students worked against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as screen printing, dye sublimation, computer-aided drafting, T-shirt design and advertising design. Gold, silver and bronze winners took home generous prize packages for themselves as well as for the school they represented. Congratulations to all of the talented student winners!

Thank you to the following industry partners for their donations and support of the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference: Coastal Business Supplies, Condé Systems Inc., Fimor North America, Freehand Graphics, Inc., GraphicElephants.com, Graphics One LLC, Great Dane Graphics, HIX Corporation, Insta Graphic Systems, International Coatings, KIWO, Murakami USA, Nazdar SourceOne, NEWMAN ROLLER FRAMES mfg. by Stretch Devices Inc., PolyOne/Wilflex, Sawgrass Inc., Stahls’, T-Biz Network, Unisub, and Vapor Apparel.