GNTC student from Polk takes top honor at 2019 SkillsUSA state competition
A gold medal came for a Polk County student at Georgia Northwestern Technical College during the SkillsUSA state competition, and another won a silver in recent days.
The TeamWorks (team competition) saw Jesse Flanagan from Polk County take home a gold medal along with fellow members Ryan Banks and Joel Paez, both of Whitfield County and Gabriel Lopez of Bartow County win Georgia’s SkillsUSA top prize for the year. It was the fourth consecutive year that TeamWorks brought home a gold medal for GNTC.
Along with Flanagan’s win, a silver medal went to Chris Roberson of Polk County for his individual efforts in HVACR.
The two Polk GNTC students were part of a larger group that took part in 15 categories. The school came back with 13 medals this year.
“Our students worked very hard to showcase their talents in the competitions at SkillsUSA Georgia,” said Missy Mclain, SkillsUSA advisor for GNTC. “We are so very proud of the success of our students and how well they represented GNTC.”
During the opening ceremony for SkillsUSA Georgia, a special recognition was held for GNTC alumnus Ryan Fincher, the 2019 SkillsUSA World Team Welder. Fincher was selected to represent the nation at the WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia. The best welders from around the world will take part in the elite international competition.
GNTC was recognized as a Level 1 Quality Chapter and also received the Gold Chapter of Distinction during the 2019 SkillsUSA Georgia opening ceremony.
Gold medalists will advance to the SkillsUSA national competition in Louisville, Ky. The national competition will be held the week of June 24.