Registration Forms

TO: T&I Instructors, Technology Center Site Directors & SkillsUSA Coordinators

SUBJECT: Oklahoma SkillsUSA Skill Championships and Leadership Conference,
April 24-26, 2008 in Tulsa, OK

Registration for the Oklahoma SkillsUSA Leadership Conference and Skill Championships is due in the State SkillsUSA Office by March 14! Registration fee is $40 for each student and $20 for each advisor.

A late fee of $30 per person will be charged for every student and advisor. Registration will be considered late if it is not submitted online by March 14^th. We will be accepting late registration through March 21st. (NO EXCEPTIONS AFTER THIS DATE!!!)

State conference registration will only be accepted through our online registration process. If you do not have access to the Internet in your classroom or office please contact someone at your school who does. Registering on the Internet will simplify the process in the state office and minimize errors. It will be each instructor's responsibility to complete the registration process by the March 14 deadline. If there is a regional/district elimination competition for your contest area, please verify that the students you register are eligible to compete. (Refer to the Contest Descriptions and Numbers list under the OK Skills Championships link). A student who competes and wins a district/regional competition is not automatically registered for state!

Please make sure requisitions for registration dollars are made at the same time you register on the Internet! You will have the ability to print a Fee Summary/Invoice for your finance office at the time of registration. ($40 per student and $20 per advisor plus any late fees) Please ask your finance office to pay from these invoices. There will be no additions after March 14th and no on-site substitutions this year. You will be expected to pay for the contestants that you register.

Your registration fee will include admittance to the SkillsUSA Entertainment Night and also provide you with a conference t-shirt (please wear this t-shirt when attending the entertainment night).

All hotel reservations must be made with the SkillsUSA Housing Bureau (see attached SkillsUSA Housing Reservation Form). Reservations cannot be made directly with a hotel! Headquarters hotel is the Marriott Southern Hills and the overflow hotel is the Hilton Southern Hills. Purchase orders should be made out to the hotel you are assigned, NOT to Oklahoma SkillsUSA and NOT to the SkillsUSA Housing Bureau!

To complete the housing registration, the attached SkillsUSA Housing Reservation Form must be mailed or faxed to the Housing Bureau. BEFORE MAILING THIS FORM, PLEASE MAKE A COPY FOR YOUR USE WHEN CHECKING IN AT THE HOTEL! Please include an email address to receive confirmation of your reservation from the Housing Bureau. Also, you will need to mail a copy of your purchase order and tax exemption form directly to the hotel AFTER you received confirmation from the hotel.

If you are able to release a room(s) before March 30 please contact the Housing Bureau. Any cancellations made after March 30 need to be made with the hotel. Any cancellations made without a 48 hours advance notice to the hotel are subject to payment. Please be aware, your release of rooms may allow another school to get their first choice in hotel. Hotels appreciate the courtesy and will be more willing to work with us in the future!

Upon receipt of the SkillsUSA Housing Reservation Form from your school, the Housing Bureau and hotel will send an acknowledgment to the individual whose name appears on the form.

PLEASE NOTE: Suites are very limited at both the Crowne Plaza and Doubletree hotels. You will need to email the hotel directly to reserve a suite. They will be reserved on a first come, first served basis. The cost for these suites vary.

Upon arrival at the hotel, registration will be facilitated by: (1) leaving students on the bus and (2) bringing school purchase order, school tax exemption form, hotel confirmation slip and copies of the SkillsUSA Housing Reservation Form to the hotel's registration desk.

PLEASE NOTE: Hotel check-in time is 4:00 p.m. A school purchase order must accompany the reservation form/rooming list for "direct billing" procedures. Hotel check-in procedures will be completed as rooms become available in the hotel. Upon check-in, the hotels will ask for each advisor’s signature on a release that holds that individual and their school responsible for all guestrooms for which that advisor is responsible. Any charges incurred because of damage to the guestrooms or extensive cleaning that might be needed will be the responsibility of the advisor who signed the release. In addition, each advisor (one per 8 rooms) will be given a pre check-in report and a post check-out report. Each advisor will check all eight rooms for any damages, cleanliness, etc, prior to the students occupying the rooms. The advisor will turn in the checklist on the day of arrival to the front office manager on duty. Upon check-out each advisor will inspect all eight rooms for damages, cleanliness, etc, and turn in the checklist to the front office manager on duty before leaving the hotel. All room keys must be returned to front desk during check-out by advisor. Each school will be responsible for unpaid charges left on account at time of check-out and any property damage within their assigned room blocks. An advisor must make any arrangements for check-out after 12 noon with hotel staff.

Shuttle transportation will be provided continuously between the Hilton Souther Hills and the Marriott Southern Hills beginning Thursday at 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 midnight on Friday. As in previous years, shuttle transportation to and from Occupational Skill Contests (OSU Tech in Okmulgee and various schools in Tulsa) will be available to contestants on Friday morning. PLEASE NOTE: This transportation will be provided per requests made during online registration. Shuttle service will not be available on Saturday morning to the Awards Ceremony!!

The State Officer and National Officer Candidate Nomination Form is also available for download. This form is due in the State SkillsUSA Office by March 7th. A school may nominate three students for office as follows: one student for a High School State Office, one student for High School National Officer Candidate and one student for Postsecondary National Officer Candidate. Please refer to the Campaign Guidelines that have been established.

Please encourage your students to seek state and national SkillsUSA offices! Candidacy for state and national office is valuable information to include on resumes and, if elected, the leadership training that students receive will help them develop a competitive edge in job-search activities. NOTE: Officer candidates that do not pass the SkillsUSA knowledge test will not be eligible for office.

Smoking by any SkillsUSA high school student is strictly prohibited. Smoking for post-secondary students and advisors is not permitted while wearing official SkillsUSA attire. Please review Student Conduct Practices and Procedures (or your locally developed Code of Conduct) with students before arriving in Tulsa. Students need to have a clear idea of what is expected of them while they are representing your school and Oklahoma SkillsUSA at this event. A Medical Release Form is available for your use unless your local administration prefers the use of a locally developed form. Obtain the proper signatures on the Student Conduct Practices and Procedures and Medical Release Forms. These forms are to be kept by the advisor or another designated school official during the conference. Submit a CTSO Conference Information Sheet to the appropriate administrator at your school and bring a copy with an accurate list of participants with you.

The attached Suggestions for Adults Responsible for Supervising Students is to help new teachers and remind veteran teachers of the advisor’s role at a State SkillsUSA Conference. Hotel damages by students during previous State Conferences has not only affected SkillsUSA's reputation but it has also resulted in an increase in room rates! Proper supervision and a student orientation will prevent further embarrassment and expense by Oklahoma SkillsUSA! Please review and utilize the attached forms to ensure the students from your school have a safe and successful SkillsUSA experience.

Now available is a tentative State Conference Schedule and a tentative Skill Contest Locations Schedule. Please keep in mind, these are tentative and there is a possibility of room changes!! A complete conference program showing times and locations will be available for you and your students when you complete on-site Conference Registration at the Marriott Southern Hills on April 24. Occupational skill contestant orientation meetings required for all Skill Contestants will be held on Thursday afternoon/evening, April 24 at the Tulsa Fairgrounds and the Marriott Southern Hills hotel. State Officer Candidates and National Officer Candidates will give their campaign speech at a Delegate Meeting on Thursday evening at the Marriott Southern Hills Hotel. All skill contests will be conducted in the Tulsa Fairgrounds Quik Trip Center - Lower Level, various Technology Center sites, and the Marriott Southern Hills Hotel on Friday. The General Session and Awards Ceremony will be in the Mabee Center on the ORU Campus on Friday evening and Saturday morning.

Item #8 LEADERSHIP CONTEST WINNERS and JOB READINESS WINNERS RECOGNIZED ON FRIDAY NIGHT

The winners in the Leadership contests and Job Readiness contests will be recognized Thursday night during the General Session at the ORU Mabee Center. Contests which will be recognized on Friday night are: Opening & Closing Ceremonies, Chapter Business Procedure, Quiz Bowl, Community Service, Job Interview, Prepared Speech, Extemporaneous Speech, Job Skill Demonstration A&B, Action Skills and all Job Readiness Contests, including Carpet Maintenance, Floral Design, Hard Surface Maintenance, Horticulture, Low Speed Buffing, Grounds Equipment Operation, Small Engine Parts ID, Standard Riding Mower, Zero Turning Radius Mower, Tool Identification, and Welding.

Oklahoma SkillsUSA will be providing a variety of choices of entertainment for our students. This entertainment is included in your registration fee, but you must wear your conference t-shirt to enter. This will ensure all participants are members of our conference and increase security. All entertainment will be held at the Marriott Southern Hills Hotel. There will be a dance and games available to choose from. There will be no backpacks allowed in the entertainment rooms. The entertainment will end at 11:30 p.m. and curfew will be at 12:00 midnight. We will, of course, need advisors to help chaperone these events. Please see specific information flyers on the state conference page on the website.

Oklahoma SkillsUSA is offering a number of items for sale at our state conference this year. The items we will be offering include Oklahoma conference pins, Oklahoma SkillsUSA blinkers (to be worn during general session), and Oklahoma SkillsUSA backpacks (black with white logo). These items will be available for purchase onsite or an advisor may place pre-conference orders with the Oklahoma SkillsUSA office. Oklahoma SkillsUSA will only accept cash or check for the purchase of these items. If you place a pre conference order -- you will need to bring cash or a check to pick them up at conference. NO Purchase Orders will be accepted. Please see the state conference page on the website for specific information with pictures of the items and order forms.

Please be aware that the Industry Prizes/Awards will be distributed on the Floor behind the stage this year. No student, parent, administrator, advisor or instructor will be allowed behind the stage area to get in line until after the Awards Ceremony has ended! We encourage you to keep your students in the arena until the Ceremony is over. Please educate your delegation of this.

Again this year, Oklahoma SkillsUSA is asking for your help. Students serving as Courtesy Corps have been a great part of making the conference happen in the past. By serving as courtesy corps the students $40 registration fee will be waived. By doing this though, the student will be expected to serve as a volunteer in ways not limited to setting up or tearing down contest areas and/or delivering lunches or supplies to staff and competitors. Courtesy corps students will need to be available on Thursday until after the delegate session ends and on Friday until after the skills contest area is completely disassembled. Please see the state conference page on the website for the application and additional details.