Aberdeen High School Takes Home Second Officer Position

Aberdeen High School Senior Karmen Ayres was elected as a National Officer at the SkillsUSA National Skills Leadership Conference this past week (June 20^th through 24^th) in Kansas City, MO. Karmen has served as chapter president for Aberdeen High School the past two years and has also served as the Olympic Region Representative her Sophomore year and the State President this past year. Karmen also placed first at state in the Prepared Speech competition held this past April in Yakima, WA at the state SkillsUSA Convention. Karmen Ayres becomes Aberdeen High School’s second National Officer in as many years as she follows fellow Bobcat and National President Katie Grimnes, who was elected to her national office at last year’s national convention. Karmen will attend officer training July 21^st through the 29^th in Virginia.

AHS graduate Katie Grimnes bid a tearful goodbye as she preformed her final duties as the National President of SkillsUSA. Her many tasks involved opening and closing ceremonies, running the delegate session and meeting with major business CEO’s. Katie’s final official duty will have her flying to Chicago later in July, to speak with the Construct Industry Institute to tell her story of how a female has excelled in a male dominated industry. Katie Grimnes was a two year veteran of Aberdeen High School’s Industrial Engineering program and placed second at state in Residential Wiring at the SkillsUSA competition in 2010.

Students receiving outstanding recognition were Sierra Fenn and Jenna Prater who placed eighth in the nation in the Audio Production Competition. Sierra and Jenna also received Skill Point Certification which is an industry recognized employment standard based off of their Industry Standards Written Test.

AHS Senior Michael Vanairsdale received accolades from the judges for his tenacity and perseverance as he overcame major health issues in order to compete. Michael finished the three-day competition by having the judge’s line up to shake his hand and express their admiration.

Other students competing/involved in the National Convention were AHS freshman Tommy Ryan, who became the youngest Aberdeen competitor ever, as performed very well in the HVAC/R competition. Bobcat freshman Erika Nelson and AHS sophomore Nicole Tanselli served as Washington State Voting Delegates

The Aberdeen High School Chapter of SkillsUSA would like to thank all of those who helped these students achieve their goal of demonstrating excellence at a national level.