Annual Report 2015-2016 Report to the Community | Page 2

Leadership Message
The success of any organization centers upon the people who dedicate their time to driving its mission
forward and believe that together, we can make a difference.
This past year, SkillsUSA Council lost
one of its founder and one of its most
dedicated advocates, Elmer Gates
at the age of 86. Serving as Council
Chairman for three terms over its 16
years of growth, Elmer provided a
strategic vision, necessary resources
and promoted SkillsUSA Council
(known as VICA at the time of its
founding) throughout the Lehigh Valley
corporate community. His business philosophy included
a strong focus on the customer experience and he firmly
believed that community involvement was an important
responsibility of business leaders. Elmer’s passion for
demonstrating to students the value of enterprise and
commitment to excellence in their chosen careers still
drives the work of SkillsUSA Council to date. Throughout
his support of SkillsUSA Council, Elmer greatly enhanced
public awareness of the need for and value of vocational
technical education and as a result, The Elmer Gates
Enterprise Awards, which recognize exceptional vocational
and technical school students for their scholastic and
leadership achievements, have been given since 1986.
The board, staff, students and members of SkillsUSA
Council will be forever grateful to Elmer for leaving behind
a legacy that promotes the trades and instills in students
and in the Greater Lehigh Valley community a respect for
vocational and career education.
2015-2016 was also a year of transition for SkillsUSA
Council. In June of 2016, we said goodbye to our
Executive Director, Thea Phalon and thanked her for
her hard work and dedication to the Council. We also
thank Judith Hunsicker of Embassy Bank For the Lehigh
Valley for her dedication as our board’s chairman for the
past three years. We appreciate her involvement and are
honored that she will continue to serve on our board.

In the pages that follow, you’ll read about another
successful year for SkillsUSA Council and our students.
Whether it be through competing at Championships,
learning leadership techniques at Ambassador Training
or celebrating successes at the Elmer Gates Enterprise
Awards, the skills these students are learning is making a
lasting impression on their lives.
As the newly appointed Executive Director of SkillsUSA
Council I look forward to the coming year as we
continue to follow our strategic plan to grow the Council
by increasing membership, expanding awareness of
our mission, strengthening our programming through
partnerships and ensuring financial security of the
organization by identifying new funding resources.
After 31 years, we continue to offer programs that
challenge our students to show their true potential. Thanks
to the involvement of so many dedicated business leaders
in the Lehigh Valley community, our programs are firmly
rooted in the career and technical schools in the area and
have become a viable resource for our students. We value
our business and education partnerships and realize that
together we succeed in educating our students…together
we are building a better workforce!

Katie L. Walter
Executive Director