Polk County High School students are on the road to several National Competitions, and success has already been highly achieved. Polk County High School would like to thank all those that help sponsor the trip to make the success a reality.

Last week, Gary Moats and Josh Goode represented Tennessee in Kansas City, MO at the SkillsUSA National Competition, competing in an 8-hour Web Competition. They had to leave immediately after for a National FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) Competition but found out they placed 10th in the nation in Web Design at SkillsUSA. Goode said, “It was exciting to compete head to head with peers from across the nation.  This was our first time at the National SkillsUSA Championship. Next time we will know what to expect.” Moats said, “I’ll be back”.

The SkillsUSA Championships is the showcase for the best career and technical students in the nation. Contests begin locally and continue through the state and national levels. The Competition is a multi-million dollar event that occupies a space equivalent to 16 football fields at the Kansas City Convention Center. There were over 5,000 contestants in 93 separate events. Nearly 1,500 judges and contest organizers from labor and management made the national event possible.

The philosophy of the Championships is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to keep training relevant to employers' needs.

FBLA

Polk County High School students hit a new level of success last week as two Web Design teams placed in the top five in the nation at the National Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference. This year’s competition had students across the nation create a website promoting an annual event in their community. Seventy-one 1st and 2nd place state winners from across the nation presented their sites at the FBLA National Convention in Atlanta.

Gary Moats, K.R. Moorhouse and Robert Hernandez placed 2nd in the Nation in Web Design with their website www.CandlelightersFunday.com. Moorhouse said, “Creating a website to promote the Candlelighters Funday was rewarding, and to receive an honor like 2nd in the nation made it even better. I wish my teammates even better success next year.” Another teammate, Robert Hernandez said, “I never expected to ever achieve anything as good as this. I hope I can take what I have learned and use it in my future.”

Anthony Joslin placed 5th in the nation with his local annual event website on the Southeast Tennessee Special Olympics. The website can be viewed at olympics.polkcountyhighschool.com.

Josh Goode competed in the E-Business category and placed in the top 15 in the nation.  

PCHS teacher Dewey Esquinance said, “Our students have far outdone anything I expected a regular teenager to do. They have given their time and talents to achieve what many think is impossible for a rural public high school to do.  My students and I want to thank all those that have helped sponsor the trips to the National Competitions this summer.”

FBLA members have the competitive edge, as the best and brightest of FBLA convene to compete in competitive categories, leadership events, share their successes, and learn new ideas about shaping their career future through workshops and exhibits. This four-day conference is considered the pinnacle of the FBLA experience, especially for those running for national office. FBLA has forged partnerships with industry leaders to underwrite competitive events and scholarships for students achieving national ranking.

This year’s awards were broadcast live on the Internet at www.FBLA-PBL.org last Sunday but can be viewed now. The awards are announced in alphabetical order, so the Web Design awards that Polk County won are near the end of the video.