JEFFERSON — Josh Adamik, a junior from Grand Valley High School and a graphic communications program student at Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School, won the Ohio SkillsUSA competition for creating the official trading pin for the state of Ohio. He also won the $300 cash award for having the first-place entry. The winning pins will be sold at the competitions in the spring and traded in Kansas City at this year’s national conference. It is the first time that an ACVJS student has won this competition.

Adamik was surprised when he found out about the outcome of the contest. “When I was designing this pin I had no thoughts in my mind that I would win. Not third place, not second place, but first place!” Adamik said. “I have never won anything like this before. Finding out that I won was wonderful. I am really excited inside!”

As excited as he is at the moment, he may be even more excited when he is recognized on stage April 23 at the state competition in Columbus. SkillsUSA members will trade copies of the pins with their counterparts from other states.

SkillsUSA adviser Suzanne Pratt says she’s very proud of Adamik. “To win this contest is a huge honor, especially for a junior,” Pratt said. “Josh’s design will represent the entire state of Ohio at the Skills USA National Conference in June and will be sought after by many. His pin will end up all over the United States, even Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands!”

Open house, dinner tonight

ACJVS will be hosting an open house for anyone excited to learn about the 22 programs offered for high school students, as well as the career-enhancing courses and classes for adults, from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. today. Members of the school staff will be on hand to answer questions.

The annual spaghetti dinner is also happening from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The menu includes spaghetti and meatballs, salad, bread and butter, beverages and dessert. Ticket prices are $4 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and children 12 years old and under. The dinner is prepared by ACJVS culinary arts students and proceeds benefit the school scholarship fund.

ACJVS to host regional event

On Saturday, ACJVS will be holding regional competitions for SkillsUSA. There will be about 450 students from all across the northeast Ohio region competing in 27 events ranging from automotive refinishing to nurse assisting. There will be 80 judges involved this year, about 50 percent of them former students from as far back as 15 years. There will also be close to 90 volunteers helping to make sure the event runs smoothly. If any student places first, second or third in regional competition, they will then advance to state competition. If they win in a category at the state competition, they can then move on to nationals.

Students awarded at troubleshooting contest

Students in another career technical program were recently honored. Seniors Jesse Leonard and Tony Buttita, both enrolled in the Power Tech II program at ACJVS, took second place in the District 3 Future Farmers of America Tractor Troubleshooting Contest held at the Wayne County Community College.

The two students competed as a team to solve diagnostic problems placed in five to six farm tractors. Each team has just 20 minutes to figure out and fix the problems. They are judged and evaluated on teamwork, safety, use of tools, diagnostic procedure and repair of the problems. The team is also required to take a 50-question online exam related to the trade area. This year, acknowledging the growing sophistication of today’s farm equipment, three of the tractors required the use of laptop computers to solve the repair problems.

Power Tech II instructor Jeff Stuyvesant says Leonard and Buttita could advance to compete at the state level, but he is still awaiting results. Great job, guys!

Business Professionals of America Compete

ACJVS business technology and tech prep computer information systems students took part in competitions Feb. 15 through 19, with many of them winning awards. A total of 26 students qualified for the state competition, which will be held in Columbus on March 18 and 19. Students are hoping to win their events so they have the opportunity to win scholarships and other awards.

Marianne Gullo, business technology instructor, said all the students’ hard work really paid off in the end. If the students come in first place at the state competitions, they are eligible to compete at the national tournament in Anaheim, Calif.

A united goal

Helping others was the idea staff and students were trying to accomplish earlier this month. The goal was to raise more than $6,000 for the United Way, a non-profit organization that helps in disaster situations such as an earthquake or hurricane, as well as helping families in need on a more local basis.

Numerous fun events, involving staff and students, were organized. During lunch periods students could donate a dollar and cut off an inch of their favorite teacher or administrator’s tie. They even got to hack away at principal Jon Whipple’s tie! The staff did their own activities as well, including a wreath lottery and a relay race involving tricycles, bouncy balls and creepers. The “Dream Team” of Deb Wildman, Stephanie Blenman, Stacey Parker and Lisa Stewart won the relay in handy fashion.

The tie project raised $100, the wreath lottery contributed $196 and the faculty race brought in $228. Many others donated funds, reaching a total of $6,021.50 for the charity, proving that the ACJVS is one “United” school.