SkillsUSA Leadership Team
Fall 2020 Leadership Conference
The 2020-2021 Scott Tech SkillsUSA Leadership Team met on Tuesday, October 27th for their Fall Leadership Conference. This year’s conference was a mix of virtual content provided by National SkillsUSA along with guest speakers for ‘in-person’ material.
The Leadership Team prepared for the conference with ‘pre-work’ provided by SkillsUSA Absorb. This site furthered their study of the SKillsUSA Framework and was the mechanism for Team members to earn their Framework Certification and SkillsUSA Statesman Pin. The goal of the SkillsUSA Framework is to provide a common language for students to articulate what they gain from SkillsUSA participation and technical education to employers, school administrators, parents and other students.
Throughout the day, leaders from the community dropped in to share their wisdom and vision for this next generation of community leaders. Amanda Lee, Chief Operations Officer and Senior Vice President with 1st State Bank of Purdy encouraged the Leadership Team to step out of their comfort zone. She went on to say that half the battle is showing-up and that this team has already overcome that battle by participating in activities like this one. Lee’s words prompted the team to add a new hashtag to their day #showup.
Jason Farris, owner of Friendly Tire in Monett shared his story of becoming a successful business owner. Jason’s success as a business owner did not come without his fair share of hardship and sleepless nights. One student asked, “How he knew he had made it?” Jason answered, “When I went from selling nine tires a day to 90.” Jason went on to say that nothing happens without hard work and taking a few risks, but the worst that can ever happen is that you have to start over and that never hurt anyone.
The Leadership Team also heard from Marti Bane, recruiter from Midwest Technical Institute (MTI) about their programs and encouraged team members to turn their passion into a paycheck. MTI offers several certification programs ranging from HVAC to medical assisting.
Arning Companies of Cassville was represented by Mark Speakman and Buzz Treadwell. Manufactoring Manager, Mark Speakman shared with the team about what he looks for in future employees. According to Speakman, attitude, work ethic and dependability are the most important attributes of successful employees and leaders. Buzz Treadwell, Operators Manager with Arning, spoke about how Arning has grown over the years to be one of the top manufacturers of petroleum canopy kiosk systems in the world and that their possibilities are limitless when they apply their talent with hard work and a little bit of courage.
Jeff Meredith, Executive Director of the Monett Chamber of Commerce was the last guest of the day and spent this time to wrap-up the conference with an informal chat about what it means to be a leader. Meredith explained that in reality there are all types of leaders – good and bad and that a good leader can mean different things to different people. “It’s up to you to decide for yourself what type of leader you want to be and why,” Meredith added. He went on to encourage the Team to put themselves out there, “the worst that can happen is it doesn’t work, which only leads to other opportunities.”
While the circumstances surrounding this year’s Leadership Team are less than ideal, the students vowed to make the most of it and grow from the experience. The faculty and staff at Scott Regional Technology Center would like to thank those organizations who participated in this event and for supporting these young leaders in all their future endeavors.