2007 100% Chapters / Section Advisors Reception Welcome Address
by Dylan Phaneuf, State Secretary
Good Evening, my name is Dylan Phaneuf and I serve as your State Secretary. I am a senior enrolled in the Computer Assisted Drafting program at McCann Technical High School in North Adams, Massachusetts and my advisor is Mr. Thomas Tinney.
It is my pleasure to welcome you to our 33rd State Leadership and Skills Conference and to our eighth annual 100% Advisors Reception.
With me this evening, are the other members of the State Executive Council and I would like to take a moment for introductions.
(introduction of State Executive Council)
As you can see from the introductions, the State Executive Council represents a wide variety of secondary school districts here in Massachusetts.
We believe it is important for you to know that SkillsUSA Massachusetts has a membership of 18,614. Consisting of 17,879 student members and 735 teachers and administrators. Our membership comes to us from 41 high schools and 1 community colleges and is supported by 375 business and industry partners.
SkillsUSA’s mission is to prepare career and technical education students, like us, to become world class workers and responsible American citizens. Our State Leadership and Skills Conference is the culminating event of a year filled with activities and programming designed to accomplish our mission for every member.
In SkillsUSA, we achieve this by providing students with a source of personal pride, pride for the job being done, as well as an understanding of the satisfaction that can come from a quality work ethic.
Our state association is passionate about making others see the value in career and technical education and is dedicated to helping students enjoy learning through a program of fun and exciting activities.
At this conference 1,600 of the best and brightest students from your chapters test their knowledge, skills, and experience through the events of the SkillsUSA Championships and the politics of the delegate assembly.
As you know, contestants in the SkillsUSA Championships have earned the right to be here through participation at the local and District levels. Gold medal winners from each of the 79 events of today will represent our state association at the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City, Missouri at the end of June.
As we participate in this conference it is difficult not to wonder how students from all over the Commonwealth are able to be here every year and be so prepred for success.
The answer is simple … students are here because of dedicated administrators, advisors, and business partners like each of you, who believe in SkillsUSA's mission and what membership accomplishes for each student.
Partners of SkillsUSA unselfishly give tremendous amounts of time and energy on behalf of students so they can learn, grow and become Champions at Work.
As I prepared my comments for this event, I thought a lot about advisors and I was struck by a comparison to a Gardnerer which I would like to share with you.
As a gardener cares for plants and flowers from the moment the seeds are placed in the ground until the day they flourish into something beautiful, SkillsUSA advisors care about the growth of their students until they flourish into Champions.
As a gardener plants seeds and waters the soil to nourish the seed, SkillsUSA advisors meet their students and beging to nourish a fledgling soul.
As the gardener makes sure to find time to care for their plants and flowers, SkillsUSA advisors put aside their profesisonal careers and at times their personal lives to tend to all of the necessary paperwork and preparations which allow their students to attend SkillsUSA conferences
As the gardener feels a sense of pride at the sight of a sprout appearing in the soil, an advisor motivates a student by expressing a sense of pride at the accomplishments of their students, no matter the size of the acomplishment
As the gardener stands back with great joy to admire their beautiful plants and flowers in full bloom, an advisor stands back with tears of joy as they admire their students winning medal after medal
Even though not everything the gardener plants can be nourished into something beautiful, there is no less effort; just as an advisor still praises the growth that has taken place because of the effort and perseverance of a student
Every SkillsUSA advisor, adminsitrator and business partner present in this room tonight is a gardener. No, you aren't helping the growth of roses, maple trees, or tomato plants; instead you are responsible for helping the growth of electricians, architects, and teachers - the future of America's work force.
My gardener, Mr. Tinney, is responsible for a large group that comes each year from over the mountain in Western Mass and he makes sure that each and every student is prepared to do their best, and still finds time to make sure I'm taken care of.
Mr. Tinney, like all advisors, has generously given so much of his time to help me succeed.
Whether it be helping me practice a script, securing my ride to an event, or running out during a conference to buy medicine so I could regain my voice; he has always been there to make sure I was growing to my fullest potential.
Since this reception is to recognize the shcools and advistors who put forth the extra time and effort to bring the experience of SkillsUSA to all students, I would like to conclude by sharing with you an image of what students feel an advisor is:
An advisor is someone who goes the extra mile, not only for their own students, but also for any student in need.
An advisor is someone who is a damage control specialist that has mastered taking a disaster and turning it into a miracle.
An advisor is someone whom students know will help them with anything from Band-Aids to broken hearts.
An advisor is someone who is willing to put their own life on hold because a student needs assistance.
An advisor is someone who never lets a student believe they have failed if they have given it their all.
An Advisor is someone who motivates, cares for, organizes and supports all students equally.
An advisor is someone whom we can aspire to be like and is a true role model for the future of America.
We as high school students are at a time in our lives where we learn the necessary lessons to distinguish between waiting for our gardens to bloom and tilling the soil.
Advisors facilitate our efforts and inspire students to push themselves farther because they know we are capable of blossoming.
Be proud of your role as gardener for the future of the American workforce, and never discount how important you are to the successful cultivation of each student's soul.
