THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 10, 1996 TAG: 9605090172
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 19 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Thousands of students, teachers, administrators and representatives from industry came from points all over Virginia to the Beach last weekend.
They weren't here for the sun, sand and ocean, though they may have enjoyed those activities.
They gathered for the 32nd annual State Leadership Conference and Virginia Skills competition. They were all part of VICA, the Vocational and Industrial Clubs of America.
The VICA membership convened at the Pavilion to select new club officials and to participate in contests involving their various specialties such as health careers, advertising design, carpentry, automotive repair, cosmetology.
The club has 14,000 members across the state and more than 300,000 nationally. VICA offers an opportunity for those students who often do not wish to further their education through college. They learn a trade and have a leg up when it comes to finding a job, so said three attendees at the conference.
Richie Mitchell, 19, studied the electrical trade at the Bedford Education Center. He now works for a contractor in Roanoke. Rhonda Mitchell, 20, (no relation to Richie) attended Triplett Technical and Business Center and now works as a cosmetologist in Edinburgh, Va.
Christy Getz, 20, returned as the projects director for the Virginia Alumni Executive Committee. She was a state officer during her student days at Triplett. She also works as a cosmetologist in Woodstock near Winchester.
``A long way from the beach,'' joked Getz.
Getz said that VICA had given her self-respect and pride. She added that the program is invaluable for those who know what they want to do.
``I feel like it helped a lot when I went to get my first job,'' she added.
VICA students learn business education, health occupations, and trade and industrial skills. The Pavilion halls were lined with displays of carpentry, automotive repair, electronics, cosmetology and many others.
Among those many others, there was LeWayne Jones, 17, a junior at Maury High School in Norfolk. An aspiring cartoonist, he attended the state conference as a delegate. Delegates oversee the competitions, he said.
``My own drawings didn't make it to the finals. I'm here looking at others' work,'' said Jones, who studies advertising design.
``I hope to be a cartoonist one day,'' he said. ``I create and draw my own comic book characters and write stories to go with them.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY EDWARDS
VICA alumni returning for the conference at the Pavilion were Richie
Mitchell, left, who studied the electrical trade; Rhonda Mitchell
(no relation to Richie), a cosmetologist; and Christy Getz, also a
cosmetologist.
by CNB