ALABAMA
Enterprise High School in Enterprise
SkillsUSA membership: 136 students and teachers
Project: SkillsUSA members will work to renovate and equip the automotive and welding labs, following a tornado in 2007 that killed eight students and damaged 20 percent of the school. The storm destroyed much of their equipment and hand tools and this grant will allow the school to revitalize two key vocational programs.

FLORIDA
Manatee Technical Institute in Bradenton
SkillsUSA membership: 774 students and teachers
Project: SkillsUSA members will renovate an unused classroom/lab formerly used by a dental program as an esthetician lab, which will in turn allow space for a new barbering lab. This will provide students in both programs more adequate space to train, and will provide an opportunity for students in carpentry, plumbing, electrical and air conditioning to plan and carry out the renovation work.

Marion Technical Institute in Ocala
SkillsUSA membership: 180 students and teachers
Project: SkillsUSA members will renovate their culinary arts laboratory with new equipment and supplies in order to enhance their technical curriculum. Middle school students will be invited in for campus tours, demonstrations and tasting events, to whet their interest in a culinary arts career path. This will give the older students a chance to practice skills while serving as mentors to the younger students.

GEORGIA
Fayette County High School in Fayetteville
SkillsUSA membership: 17 students and teachers
Project: Fayette County plans to develop and implement a new curriculum in landscape management for students with mild cognitive disabilities. The purchase of mowers, blowers and trimmers plus integrated safety training will allow these special needs students to gain skills for new career roles other than stocking shelves or doing building maintenance.

ILLINOIS
Kankakee Area Career Center in Bourbonnais
SkillsUSA membership: 136 students and teachers
Project: Students will work with Lowe’s and the various technical programs to build a mobile career demonstration unit that can be used to educate students, their parents and the community as a whole about Career Center programs, the SkillsUSA organization and the importance of CTE.

NORTH CAROLINA
Wakefield High School in Raleigh
SkillsUSA membership: 47 students and teachers
Project: Two teams of carpentry students will build storage sheds in a timed event. The competition will take place at a Lowe’s store in order to bring positive attention to the school and the students. Once built, the sheds will be used to store SkillsUSA competition materials and equipment, which in turn will free up space for a new chapter meeting area. Carpentry students will build the sheds, and they will be designed by drafting students.

NEBRASKA
Central Community College in Columbus
SkillsUSA membership: 13 students and teachers
Project: Students will build display cases to house their SkillsUSA and school trophies in order to showcase student achievement. They will also construct a new garden at the school, where the chapter will build and display a unique sculpture made by the students. These activities will increase visibility of the SkillsUSA program on campus.

PENNSYLVANIA
Pottstown High School in Pottstown
SkillsUSA membership: 16 students and teachers
Project: Students will renovate the courtyard of the school as a central outdoor learning space and focal gathering space for students, including removal of a broken fountain, creating new outdoor seating, adding a new water feature, and installation of flower beds. Renovation of the courtyard will benefit all students and visitors to the school and will help improve student pride in their campus facility.

TENNESSEE
Telecommunications Center in Memphis
SkillsUSA membership: 41 students and teachers
Project: Students will build a new television set to facilitate programs produced by the student members to engage the community. These programs will be broadcast throughout the Memphis area on Comcast Cable Channel 19. The set-building project is part of a larger re-branding and re-launching of Cable 19.

VIRGINIA
Buchanan County Technology and Career Center in Grundy
SkillsUSA membership: 41 students and teachers
Project: Students will build a new greenhouse on campus, in order to study environmental issues and agriculture. Once built, the greenhouse will allow students to work with their local nursing home on developing an occupational therapy program for seniors centered on gardening. This will be part of ongoing community service activities centered around the greenhouse.