The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1094434
A-4 Local Wednesday, March 20, 2019 The Press-Dispatch Two Pike Central BPA students advance to national competition Pike Central High School's Business Professionals of Ameri- ca chapter had a successful trip to the 2019 State Conference in India- napolis, March 10 -12. Seven of the club's students earned the chance to attend while competing at the Regional Conference back in Janu- ary. The students and their events include: Andrew Clark in Human Resource Management, Emily Hill in Medical Office, Jenna Horrall in Economic Research, Sean Keith in Medical Office, Sydney Keith in Medical Office and Economic Re- search, Madison Warner in Inter- mediate Word Processing and Of- fice Systems, and Kyle Williams in Legal Office, and Business Law and Ethics. "The state conference offers guest speakers, leadership ses- sions and activities when students are not competing. Students learn valuable networking and time management skills throughout," said Pike Central BPA sponsor Dana Deffendoll. "A fter everyone completed their rigorous events, two students, Syd- ney Keith and Kyle Williams, ad- vanced to Nationals, which will be in Anaheim, Calif., this year." They will compete at the na- tional level May 1-5, represent- ing Pike County and Indiana BPA among the top students in the na- tion. "Sydney and Kyle will enjoy many leadership and sightseeing opportunities while attending the conference. The two seniors have proven to be exceptional students with work ethics to match, as this level of success is quite hard to achieve, and they've earned a re- ally fantastic experience," said Deffendoll. Pike Central's Welding Tech- nology program was named the Career and Technical Education secondary program of the year by the Indiana Awards for Excel- lence in Indianapolis recently. Pike Central welding instruc- tor Kevin Carter received the award for Pike Central. The event was for CTE Secondary program of the year. The Indiana Awards for Excel- lence was hosted by the Indiana Department of Education on Feb- ruary 26. The Indiana (AFE) program highlights the outstanding achievement of Career and Tech- nical Education (CTE) students, partners, programs and career advisement programs around the state that exemplify the ide- al qualities of Career and Techni- cal Education. The Pike Central program uses the AWS Sense program to pre- pare students for post-second- ary success. The program has 100 percent job placement for students who want to continue to work in the welding industry. The instructor works with local employers to ensure each student has opportunity for job placement upon graduation. Pike Central was recognized as one of the premier secondary welding programs in the state. The program has won the team welding tournament 18 times in the past 32 years. The program has also had 10 students in the Top 5 at the Skills USA Nation- al Competition. Two Pike Central students have won the Skills USA National Championship. Pike Central welding instructor Kevin Carter (r) displays a plaque after Pike Central's welding program was named the Career Technical Education program of the year. Jarred T. Howard, Director of the Patoka Valley Career and Tech- nical Cooperative, was also present at the ceremony. Pike Central is part of the Patoka Valley cooperative. Pike Central welding program named Career and Technical Education secondary program of the year Boy Scouts food drive Petersburg Boy Scout Gavin Eager hangs a JayC Food- store grocery sack on a doorknob of a house on Seventh St., Pe- tersburg. Petersburg Boy Scouts scoured the city on Saturday beginning at 7 a.m. to put a grocery sack on every household. They ask residents to put a non-perish- able food item into the sack and put the sack back on their door or front steps next Satur- day morning. The Boy Scouts will return and pick up the sacks and the food items will be donated to Some- body's Place. Pike Central students Sydney Keith and Kyle Williams ad- vanced to the Nationals competition of the Business Profes- sionals of America. The national competition will be in Ana- heim, California the first week of May. Their BPA Advisor, Da- na Deffendoll, is between Keith and Williams.