SkillsUSA Members Serve Local Communities and Receive Prestigious Presidential Volunteer Service Award

Leesburg, Va.—SkillsUSA members from 13 states have been recognized for their outstanding community service this year. SkillsUSA, as an official certifying organization for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (PVSA), recognized the members for individual or team service efforts. PVSA is a national honor issued by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation on behalf of the President of the United States. The award recognizes the best in the American spirit and encourages all Americans to improve their communities through volunteer service and civic participation. Gold, silver and bronze awards are based on the number of documented volunteer hours served over 12 consecutive months. Recipients receive a lapel pin, personalized certificate of achievement, and a congratulatory letter from the president. A total of 18,083 service hours were performed by the following SkillsUSA members who qualified to receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2020. For more information about SkillsUSA’s involvement in this program, plus details about requirements and the application process, visit: www.skillsusa.org/membership-resources/awards/presidents-volunteer-service-award/. 

Individual Awards

ARIZONA River Valley High School: Gold – Ethan Fromm; Cochise College: Bronze – Gabriel Lewis; River Valley High School: Bronze – Brenda Cruz and James Freeman CALIFORNIA Downey High School: Gold – Alyssa Fetter, Angelica Arcos, Lizbeth Camacho, Jannett Marchan, Stephany Mayer, Ashley Mendoza, Alyssa Nicole Montanez, Christopher Storey; Donald Jordan Intermediate School: Silver – Kevin Tran; Downey High School: Silver – Suzette Cordova, Charity Alleiah Daniel Oliver, ; Elizabeth Ortiz, Nicolas Velasquez; Donald Jordan Intermediate School: Bronze – Andrew Huynh; Downey High School: Bronze – Nicholas Storey LOUISIANA Bossier Parish Community College: Silver – Ethan Hagan MASSACHUSETTS Plymouth South High School: Gold – Maria Baker; Madison Park Vocational Technical High School: Gold – Melanie Sola; Bay Path Regional Technical High School: Gold – Kayley Eaton; Carla Rodriguez; Blackstone Valley Regional Vo-Tech High School: Gold – Anika Koopman; Southeastern Regional Technical High School: Gold – Aliyana Martin; Blackstone Valley Regional Vo-Tech High School: Silver – Madeleine Poitras; Blue Hills Regional Technical High School: Silver – Christopher Alcimbert; Greater Lowell Technical High School: Silver – Gregory Hebert; Whittier Regional Technical High School: Silver – Lauren Fitzgerald MARYLAND Frederick County Career and Tech Center: Gold – Jonathan Henry NEBRASKA Millard North High School: Gold – Anvitha Boosani NEW JERSEY Somerset County Academy for Health and Medical Science: Gold – Maxwell Chuo; Somerset County Academy for Health and Medical Science: Silver – Christopher Masiello; Somerset County Academy for Health and Medical Science: Bronze – Rima Amin OHIO Perkins High School: Gold – Franklin Whipple; Penta Career Center: Silver – Morgan Elizabeth Perkins; Penta Career Center: Bronze – Morgan Machcinski Perkins; Ronee Marie Loftis Peterson OKLAHOMA Geary Middle School: Gold – Connor Bernhardt PENNSYLVANIA Gold – Joshua M. Nussbaum  TEXAS Carl Wunsche Senior High School: Bronze – David Garrison

Team Awards

Arizona – Valley Academy for Career and Technical Education Construction Volunteer Duo (Bronze) Illinois – Thomas Kelly College Prep SkillsUSA Chapter (Gold) Massachusetts – Blackstone Valley RVTHS (Gold) New Jersey – Bergen County Academies SkillsUSA Chapter (Bronze) New York – Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical High School/Edison SkillsUSA (Gold) Oklahoma – Metro Technology Center – South Bryant Campus/Metro Technology Law Enforcement Cadets 

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 more than 372,000 annual paid 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. With the addition of our alumni, membership is 434,141. We have served nearly 14 million members since 1965. For more information: www.skillsusa.org.

SkillsUSA Contacts

Jane Short or Karen Kitzel, SkillsUSA 703-777-8810 jshort@skillsusa.org or kkitzel@skillsusa.org