The American Boat & Yacht Council yesterday announced that it participated in and judged the Marine Service Technology competition at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, held June 23-27. Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and the National Marine Electronics Association also participated.
The annual conference recognizes the nation’s top career and technical education students, featuring more than 110 competitions and more than 10,000 participants. In addition to marine technology, the event includes contests for welding, construction trades, manufacturing, transportation, health care, hospitality and more.
“ABYC began participating about five years ago to support the next generation of marine technicians and help strengthen workforce development across the industry,” ABYC lead instructor Mike Bonicker said in a statement. “We reached out to manufacturers and organizations to help provide the materials, equipment and support needed for the Marine Service Technology competition. The response this year was outstanding.”
The Marine Service Technology competition includes hands-on labs and a written exam. ABYC developed two of the lab stations to evaluate competitors’ electrical knowledge. Bonicker and Dave Broadbent, ABYC senior director of business development, were judges.
Here are this year’s SkillsUSA National winners in the Marine Service Technology competition:
High School Division
• Gold: Charles Todd, McIntosh County Academy, Darien, Ga.
• Silver: Charles Powell, Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence, Ridgeland, S.C.
• Bronze: Harrison Adams, Bridging Communities Regional CTEC, New Kent, Va.
College/Postsecondary Division
• Gold: Andrew Couey, Carteret Community College, Morehead City, N.C.
• Silver: Nicholas J. Walter, Alexandria Technical & Community College, Alexandria, Minn.
• Bronze: Michael Turk, Chippewa Valley Technical College, Eau Claire, Wis.
