Members Present: Bill Mann, Chairman / Region III; Carl Miller, State Director; Dr. Mary Cantrell, Administrator; Michelle Meluch, Advisor-at-Large; Al Herndon, Industry Representative; Frank Yongue, Region II; David Moye, Advisor-at-Large, Officer Trainer

Members Absent: Jerry Ditty, Region IV; Advisor-at-Large; Darin Nine, Vice-Chairman; Ralph Bryant, Region V; Barbie Nall, Region I; David Barnes, Administrator; Bud Wooten, Industry Rep, Kristen Shahen, Industry Rep.

Guests: Kathie Schmidt, Director of CTE / St. Lucie; Florida State Officers

Call to Order: Chairman Bill Mann called the meeting to order at 9:20 A.M. It was determined that there were not sufficient board members in attendance for a quorum; therefore this would not be considered an official meeting. Agenda items would be discussed, but all those requiring voting action would be addressed at the August Board Meeting.

Minutes: Due to lack of quorum, minutes cannot be approved, but it was requested that issues be reviewed for later approval.
Noted: 1) Kristen Shahen's name is misspelled.
2) Al Herndon noted that the minutes indicate that the Brick Masons pay for contest expenses NOT contestants' individual expenses

Treasurer's Report: Director Carl Miller reviewed the report, noting that each year the organization's financial picture is getting better. He also explained that it should also be noted that:
Some schools still have not paid their bill for State Conference
Last quarterly Perkins payment to due to SkillsUSA is not reflected (appx. $8,000)
Several months remain in current fiscal year
Some expenses for nationals yet to be paid

Checking Account Balance $50,418.97
Savings Account Balance $14,346.83
Available Cash $64,765.80

The Treasurer's Report will be filed for audit.

State Officers Report: Kristen Wiseman thanked the Board and called the State Conference a "resounding success" and felt that she had seen more student spirit than ever before. Other indicated that everything went well and on time, and that students appeared to know where they were going and that the maps were very helpful.

Report on Workshops for Students / Advisors at State:
Amber Mulleady reported on the two workshops that were presented for students (one on each day). Attendance = 14 + 27 = 41. Deb Ken's workshop for advisors was also successful and totaled 18 attendees. Total attendance at both = 59. Discussion followed regarding location. Holiday Inn was very accommodating but it was apparent that most of those who attended the workshops were those who were registered at the Holiday Inn and didn't have to travel. Few who were registered at other hotels attended. Alternate locations should be considered for next year. Dr, Cantrell indicated that she will attempt to find a location at MTI for next year on the Skills Competition day. Also possible that an additional site workshop may be hosted at the Civic Center on Leadership Day. Chairman Mann thanked the Officers for their hard work and complemented them on how they handled themselves onstage. He stated that this was one of the best officer teams he had ever worked with and looks forward to next year.

Approval of Board Travel To Meeting: Unable to formally approve without quorum, but will do so pending Board approval.

Board Resignation / Election: Letter of resignation from Industry Representative Dan Fitzgerald for personal reasons. Dan also serves as Secretary / Treasurer. New Secretary / Treasurer will need to be elected at the August meeting. Director Carl Miller reported that he had spoken with Don Gugliuzza, Senior Manager, Tropicana / Bradenton who has enthusiastically agreed to accept the position of Industry Rep. upon Dan's resignation. Don "G" stated that after hosting one of the state competitions this year and then attending the awards ceremony, he was totally amazed and "had no idea of the depth and scope of this organization". Dr. Cantrell endorsed the appointment and stated that Don "G" had really stepped up at the conference and that he was very community-minded and heavily involved in the regional workforce board. She stated that in her opinion he is a hard worker, would be an outstanding board member, and that he had the potential to bring much knowledge and resources to the organization. Carl promised that he will get him out to nationals next year as it is too late this year to secure lodging.

Updates and Conclusions from State Conference: Carl thanked the Board members present and others and stated that it could never have come off without them. Special recognition went to Michelle and Lisa for registration and scoring and more, Frank Yongue for coordinating prize distribution, Kathie Schmidt for Leadership events.

Registrations: Went extremely smoothly. It was set up much like at nationals and was great! Recommendation: Have advisors sign a form that what they receive is true and accurate. (to ensure that contestants are registered in correct contest and division).
Hotel Registrations: All appeared to go well with the exception of Rodeway Inn.
Transportation: Went very smoothly. Each year it has improved and routes have been added.
Opening Session: Was great! Additions included light show and confetti canons. One improvement needed is to get more participants to attend. Discussion ensued regarding responsibility of advisors to encourage students to attend and to set an example by attending themselves.

Skills Contests: They were great! New partnerships have added much and issues have been diminishing from year to year. Probably won't ever get out of the need to outsource contests due to scope, but partnerships are key.
Discussion of specific contests included the new addition of Motorcycle event. Carl said that kids all over the state are working through coop, but 2 schools wanted to compete. Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Orlando stepped in and hosted on Monday. Diesel Contest was impressive with 15 contestants. Fastenall wants to get further involved. They unexpectedly brought their trailer this year and donated great prizes. Tropicana did an OUTSTANDING job hosting the Robotics and Automated Mfg. Contest at their training facility also partnering with Tropicana was DC Jaeger Corp. and Dr. Eric Roe with Fl-ATE

Leadership Contests: Heard nothing but positive feedback. People like the Civic Center location. Adjusting the timeslots for competitors helped greatly and everything actually ran ahead of schedule. Having a "pre-staging" area also worked well rather than trying to stage and test in the same area. The only problem area was the conflict between Quiz Bowl and Health Knowledge Bowl needing the same area due to the fact that the electronic curtain divider broke resulting in the loss of one contest room. This will be addressed next year by holding the Health Knowledge contest on Tuesday as it is done at nationals.

Closing Ceremony: Packed and rocking. Corporate representatives who attended were "blown away". They also noticed and commented that we are serious about dress code for those who go up on stage to receive their medals, and encouraged us to continue that practice. The powerpoint and reports that the new scoring system from nationals were "slick". Carl rated the overall conference a high "B" or low "A".

Nationals ­ Bill Mann oversees "Outstanding Chapter Notebook" competition at nationals. This contest chronicles what each chapter has accomplished all year. Bill is in need of judges. Dr. Cantrell volunteered Martha Myers. Kathie Schmidt volunteered. Bill will need four more judges and requested that anyone who knows of someone who is interested please email him with the names.

Information on Web:
Minutes: Chairman will request that new Secretary get minutes finished within two weeks in order to get them on the web in a timely manner.
Treasurer's Report on web: Policy will be to send out upon request.
Board policies/by-laws: Agreement that they should be posted on the web.
Pictures of medalists at State: Discussion of having ceremonies taped and selling tapes for marketing purposes. Carl indicated that Bayshore HS has been doing so already but no one has purchased. Also noted that there are companies out there who will take photos that can be purchased in person or later on the web. Discussion followed about use of powerpoint and/or 10-12 minute videos for recruitment and marketing.

Policy Changes: For discussion only. Board action will need to be addressed at August Board Meeting.

1. Board Drafting ­ Discussion regarding possibly dropping these contests which have already been eliminated at nationals and are "State Only". Had only 10 contestants. Frank Yongue said that related NOCTI Technical Committee feels that students should have background knowledge in board. Discussion that we should only host contests that are going on to nationals. Consensus was to eliminate Board Drafting / Mechanical and Architectural / Secondary and Post Secondary.

2. Enter Only One Contest At State ­ discussion regarding nationals' policy of only allowing entry into one contest total vs. Florida's current policy of one per category (skills & leadership). Due to uncertainty of school budgets this year potentially impacting attendance, general consensus was to recommend continuing current practice.

3. Discontinue contests: Participation has been declining in certain contests. These contests are "state only". Recommendation that when board next meets with quorum that they vote to discontinue the following contests:
o Extemporaneous Writing
o Spelling

4. Computers for Ad Design and 3 D-Animation ­ Currently, the computer specs for what is in the lab where these events are held are posted in advance, but contestants are allowed to bring their own if they request to. This is done at nationals, where contestants arrive a day in advance to install drivers for the plotters. Mary Cantrell was asked to confirm that if all contestants were advised to bring their own, that there would be room. She confirmed this was doable. Consensus was to do this from now on.

SLTW in Region I ­ Had considered locating SLTW in Region I this year since schools in that region sometimes feel left out due to distance and having to travel the farthest all of the time. However, at this point they would rather go to Haines City. Meanwhile due to the current statewide budget constraints, moving the event so far away from most others could be disastrous to the majority of schools' ability to participate.

Student By-law Changes ­ Dave Moye reported that the Student By-laws changes were approved by the delegates as written. Also noted that current State Historian Michael Brun received their endorsement for his intention to run for national office. Michael was unable to attend today's Board Meeting (traveling out of state to be with his parents). Michael has graduated and will begin attending the University of South Florida. As a National Officer Candidate, he can run for office, and if he wins, he has until December '08 to start a SkillsUSA chapter there. Carl verified that Michael has filed his paperwork with nationals and been approved. Also stated that Michael has been in continuous contact with him and that he has already begun the process with USF.

Continued Update on Contests ­
Michelle emphasized need to align all of state contests with 1,000 point scoring system as is done at nationals. (National's system is now used for registration, scoring, and easily "translates" the contest results into the powerpoint shown at the Awards Ceremony).
Carl reiterated that Nationals needs to provide the individual states with "useable" contests for state championships. That means including clip art files and other necessary related resources. He plans to bring this topic up at the State Directors' Meeting in Kansas City.
Confusion over annual State Theme (used for trading pins, etc.) vs. national theme that needs to be used for Bulletin Board event as per contest rules. Discussion of how confusing this is to contestants and all.
Frank Yongue discussed sponsors for first place winners at nationals. Recommended giving of gift cards, donated to, not paid for by SkillsUSA.
Dave Moye reported that ten (10) officers participated and thanked them.
Al Herndon reported on the Masonry contests: Overall they went very well. Noted that two of his schools did not show up to the Opening Ceremony. This is an issue in all areas not just masonry competitors. Al said his instructors suggested that there be a mandatory meeting the night before where the Knowledge Test would be administered. This would follow the national model. Bill said that this used to be done and doesn't remember why we got away from that. Administering the test the evening before the skills competitions relieves some of the students' tension. But, if we set consequences such as a points deduction, for not attending then we need to follow through. Full Board will need to look at this.
Advertising Design: One of best ever for Advertising Design. Need to get industry people judging, and art teachers NOT judging.
Carpentry: Problems occurred because student who scored well was never actually registered in the contest. Advisors were given space at registration / check-in to review all materials in their packets for accuracy including students registered in the wrong contest, and told to notify Michelle or Lisa if there were any problems. Advisors and students were also reminded during the Opening Ceremony to report any discrepancies prior to the start of the contests. Once the contests begin, no changes can be made. Students incorrectly registered at that point are therefore not eligible to win the event.
Promotional Bulletin Board: Advisor of one of the contestants whose entry didn't win contacted nationals to challenge the decision. Decision will stand, as winning entry was allowable according to the new standards.
Contest Prizes: Frank Yongue was commended for his efforts and an extremely well organized prize area. Complications included the fact that the state officers who actually helped to hand out the prizes need to have time for some training in this area. In the case of the welding contest, great prizes were donated from industry partners including Miller and Lincoln Electric, Some of the prizes may have been awarded to the winner of the wrong competition, or at least not what it was intended for. The death of the MTI Welding instructor since the State Championships took place has made researching the details of what was actually donated nearly impossible. Discussion followed that partners who donate prizes want them to go to the specific contest that they were donated for. Lack of prizes donated for Leadership contests also discussed.
Committees: Carl suggested that the Board consider establishing committees in the future that would take on specific responsibilities such as "Ways and Means", "Contests", etc. Michelle and Dr, Cantrell agreed saying that technical committees should be responsible for writing of contests, recruiting judges, and soliciting of prizes. Bill said that this approach has not worked historically due to distance. Potential sources for prizes for Leadership Contests discussed. Al noted that while industries are having to cut back, they have said, "Make sure that everyone gets a prize." Sometimes this has meant giving gift certificates which could perhaps be given to Leadership event winners. Carl noted that while technical committees are needed to develop skills contests, leadership contests are already written. Further discussion will need to occur at next full Board Meeting.

Travel to Kansas City / National Leadership and Skills Conference ­ the official policy is Board approval in advance. However, in this instance, the vote will have to occur in August.

The following State Officers will attend:
Kristin Wiseman / President
Annalee Santos / President- Elect
Cheryl Mahaffey /
Amber Mulleady /
Michael Brun
Matt Van Varick / Activities Coordinator

All four Courtesy Corps members will go, chaperoned by Johanna Travis of St. Lucie West Centennial HS. Florida SkillsUSA will pay for their airfare and Nationals will cover all other expenses.

Appointment of State Officer Trainer ­ David Moye was reappointed as State Officer Trainer. David is ready for the State Officer Training Workshop in August.
Announced that this coming year's 10 officers are from:
Region 1 = 1
Region 3 = 2
Region 2 = 4
Region 4 = 3

President: Annalee Santos
Vice president: Amber Mulleady
Secreatary: Brandon Mullings
Goodwill Ambassador: Erica Singleton
Education Coordinator: Heather Fortenberry
Sergeant at Arms: Nataya Swanson
State Awards Coordinator: Terrence Smith
Reporter: Summer Campbell
Parliamentarian: Wilson Navarro
State Historian: Juliana Oritz

Director's Contract for 2008-09 ­ Carl received commendations for his work. He emphasized how much he is enjoying it. Reported that he has provided FLDOE with all required deliverables and submitted 2008-09 Carl Perkins Grant. The amount of the grant has increased to $39,380. Our increased membership numbers at the secondary and post secondary level, total participation, and attendance at events including SLTW and Championships have increased the grant amount. Discussion followed about concerns for next year's figures due to serious state budget cuts to school districts and the need to provide guidance and leadership to schools on fundraising. Carl plans to discuss this topic with other state directors at Nationals.

Adjourn: There being no further business; the meeting was adjourned at 12:30 P.M. by Chairman Bill Mann.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathie Schmidt, Director / CTE / St. Lucie County