Bevill State students place first in regional competitions; qualify to compete at national level

Bevill State Community College students Melissa Clark, Zac Colburn, Craig McCarley, Daniel Riggs, Christopher Ayers, and Cynthia Ringo placed first in the state in regional competitions making them eligible to represent the state at national competitions this summer.

Clark, Colburn, McCarley and Riggs participated in the 2009 Skills USA Regional Conference and finished first place in their respective skills areas. Clark placed first in the Automotive Refinishing competition; Colburn and McCarley placed first in Electricity/Electronics Technology; and Riggs came in first in Drafting Design Engineering Technology. All of these students qualify to compete in the Skills USA National Competition to be held in July 2009 where more than 4,700 career and technical education students competed last year. Several other Bevill State students were also successful at the regional conference including Air Conditioning and Refrigeration students Brett Owens - second place, Nick Pierce - third place; Electricity/Electronics students Brady Hood, Bradley Hosch, and Zach Gregg - second place, Jack Vickery and Mike Sandlin - third place; Automotive Technology student Caleb Chaffin - second place; Drafting Design Engineering Technology student Jared Fannin - third place. All of these students were tested on their speed, skill and knowledge in their fields of expertise and competed against both time and other contestants.

Ayers and Ringo participated in the 2009 Phi Beta Lambda Regional Conference. Ayers finished first in Marketing Concepts and Ringo placed first in Word Processing. In addition, Tiffany Terradas placed second in Accounting Principles. All three students are eligible to compete in the 2009 Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference to be held in Anaheim, California in June 2009 where students will be judged on their knowledge and skills in their field.

Phi Beta Lambda is the postsecondary and college division of the Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc. For more information about PBL at Bevill State, contact Sandy Short at 648-3271 ext. 5204.

SkillsUSA is the national organization for students in trade, industrial, technical and health occupations education. It sponsors the SkillsUSA Championships annually to recognize the achievements of career and technical education students.

For more information about SkillsUSA or Bevill State's Career Technical Education programs, contact 800-648-3271 ext. 5787.