2024–2025 SkillsUSA Massachusetts Advisors’ Handbook Chapter 3: SkillsUSA Massachusetts Operations • 39 History for and was elected to the office of National Parliamentarian (Postsecondary Division), our sixth National Officer. Cyra’s election was particularly noteworthy since she captured enough of the vote on the primary ballot to be declared the winner. This unprecedented event allowed the election to be determined on Thursday of the conference week rather than Friday, although all results were kept confidential until Friday evening’s awards ceremony. Cyra began her freshman year at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI as an International Business major in the fall of 1998. 1999 The last State Leadership and Skills Conference to be organized under the Massachusetts VICA banner was held at the Best Western Royal Plaza and Trade Center in Fitchburg for the third and last time. The Massachusetts SkillsUSA Championships was co-hosted by Assabet Valley RVTHS and Tri-County RVTHS. At the state conference the House of Delegates voted to change Massachusetts VICA’s official name to Massachu- setts SkillsUSA–VICA to comply with the national name change. The National Conference was held in Kansas City, Missouri, for a sixth year. The conference saw Massachu- setts SkillsUSA–VICA run its seventh candidate for National Office. Jacob Donnelly, a student of the Culinary Arts program at Tri-County RVTHS, ran for and was elected to the office of National Treasurer (Secondary Division), our seventh National Officer. The Conference celebrated the official name change, which took effect on July 4th, 1999. Massachusetts had 39 top-ten finishers. Of those were 3 bronze medals, 4 silver medals, and 6 gold medals. Massachusetts SkillsUSA —VICA also awarded its first ever “Massachusetts SkillsUSA—VICA Salute to Excellence Scholarship Award” to Kerry A. Foley, 1998–99 State President. 2000 The first State Leadership and Skills Conference organized under the banner of Massachusetts SkillsUSA—VICA was held at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center in Marlborough, MA. The SkillsUSA Championships was again co-hosted by Assabet Valley Technical HS and Tri-County Technical HS. This conference featured a record attendance of 1,470. The conference occu- pied an astonishing 535 hotel rooms within three properties and the awards ceremony drew a record 2,200 participants. Other highlights of 2000 were; Massachusetts participation in the International Vocational Training Competitions (IVTC) in Montréal, Quebec Canada. 67 Advisors and the State Executive Council made the trip to Montréal. The delegation was there in support of Timothy Dresser, a 1999 graduate of Blackstone Valley Technical HS who represented Team USA in Consumer Electronics. Tim racked up an impressive fourth place finish for Team USA and Massachusetts Skill- sUSA—VICA. The National Leadership & Skills Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, saw Team Massachusetts bring home 2 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze medals, and 28 top ten finishes as well as our National Secondary Treasurer, Jacob Donnelly, being named the recipient of the Paul Pentz True Leaders Schol- arship. Massachusetts SkillsUSA—VICA named both Jacob Donnelly, National Treasurer and Suzanne Raposo, Secondary President as recipients of the Massachusetts SkillsUSA—VICA Salute to Excellence Scholarship Award. 2001 The first year of the new millennium began with an aggressive plan of activities and training opportunities for advisors and students. The Professional Development Program was introduced to a record number of students as an integral part of the instructional program. Massachusetts SkillsUSA—VICA also saw a record number of schools join as Total Participation Chapters bringing our membership totals to an all time high of 8,852 members. The State Leadership and Skills Conference featured a theme of “SkillsUSA—VICA: Your Passport to Success” and depicted the theme through a series of activities, workshops and multimedia presentations featuring the evolution of technology around the globe and the progress and tradi- tion of the American Workforce. The conference featured another record attendance of over 1,500 registered participants. The Awards Ceremony drew over 2,300—an all-time record—making this confer- ence the largest educational gathering in Massachusetts. The National Leadership and Skills Conference saw Team Massachusetts earn 4 gold, 3 silver and 8 bronze medals and 20 top-ten finishes in the SkillsUSA Championships. Massa- chusetts SkillsUSA—VICA named both Mary-Theresa Tringale, State President and Jeffrey Quigley, State Vice President as recipients of the Massachusetts SkillsUSA—VICA Salute to Excellence Scholarship Award. 2002 This year marked a year of transition for Massachusetts SkillsUSA—VICA. In spring, we welcomed a new Executive Director, Karen DeCoster, aboard who worked closely with the Board and former Executive Director, Karen Ward, to keep things running smoothly. Although Karen Ward has assumed a new role as Tech Prep Coordinator at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School, like so may others in the organization, she continues to be involved at several levels. 2002 was also a very successful year for Massachusetts SkillsUSA—VICA. We placed a record-breaking number of contests —21—and were one of the top 5 states for the number of medallists bringing home 17 gold, 7 silver, and 11 bronze medals. Nationally, we earned the highest gold medal count of any state at the secondary (high school) level. Finally, we proudly added Northamption’s Smith Voca- tional High School to the long list of schools participating in MA SkillsUSA–VICA. In fact, at the national conference, Massachusetts once again took home (for the ninth year in a row) membership awards for increases in both secondary and postsecondary membership. 2003 In 2003 Massachusetts SkillsUSA—VICA had a record membership of over 13,000 student and teachers. The year was highlighted by a record number of schools joining as Total Participation Chapters and record numbers of students participating in the Professional Devel- opment Program. The statewide activities and conferences were hosting record numbers as well requiring new limitations on partici- pation in many activities and events. The State Leadership ad Skills Conference was held in North Central Massachu- setts with the Best Western Royal Plaza in Fitchburg serving as the main conference hotel. The SkillsUSA Champion- ships was co-hosted by Montachusett RVTHS in Fitchburg and Minuteman School of Arts and Sciences in Lexington. Jacob Donnelly
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