President’s Message

      Hello WTEA members and Happy New Year. I hope all of you had some time with family over the holidays to relax and rejuvenate for the second semester of the school year. It is hard to believe that we are almost halfway through the school year. Where does the time go? There are many things that always seem to come up right after the holidays such as this edition of the Interface, the Winter Board Meeting, the WTEA conference, SkillsUSA events, WEEVA Supermileage and Electrathon challenges, ITEEA annual conference, and the list goes on and on.

You may have seen the 30 in 30 challenge that I sent out to get more members and teachers signed up for the DPI TechEd listserve. The challenge was to get 30 more people signed up in the 30 days of November. We met our goal and continue to see more members sign up. This is our number one way as teachers to communicate to the masses. Nice work everyone in getting new people signed up for the listserve. Let’s keep this rolling! A special thank you goes out to Garrett Pongratz from Central High School – District of Westosha. Garrett has taken it upon himself to help organize the content from the listserve for ease of use by our members. Nice work Garrett and thank you for your positive contribution to our field!

The WTEA board is in hot pursuit with conference planning. Booths are set, vendors are ready to rock and roll, presenters have been booked, awards candidates are being reviewed, etc. It is going to be another great conference. If you have not registered yet or talked with administration about getting to the conference, be sure to take care of that immediately! You will not want to miss this conference. The board will have its Winter Meeting on the 13th and 14th of this month. If you have any things you would like to bring to the table, please be sure to email your district representative.

This edition of the Interface marks the pilot test of a “Feature Article.” The feature article in this edition is sponsored by Auer Steel and Heating Supply Company. Auer Steel headquarters is in the Milwaukee area with 8 locations throughout the midwest. Auer Steel is very active in promoting Technology and Engineering Education, the WTEA, and all the careers available in the HVAC industry. Auer Steel will have a booth at the conference and will be sponsoring the Awards Banquet. The WTEA is very excited about the “Feature Article” and the new found partnership with Auer Steel.

Along with the Feature Article, we have yet another great issue in part thanks to our Editor, Doug MacKenzie and Executive Director, Joe Ciontea. A portion of things to look for include:

– Some President Elect and Secretary/Treasurer candidate bios.

– A Fab Lab opportunity through Three Lakes School District.

– An article from Mike Cattelino regarding apprenticeships.

– Conference updates.

– Board meeting highlights.

In closing, please put March 2nd and 3rd on your calendar for the annual WTEA Conference at Chula Vista in Wisconsin Dells. I hope you have some New Year’s Resolutions . . . lend a helping hand, contribute to our wonderful field and organization, learn something new, promote the work of others, and make it a great day. Let us know if the WTEA can help you with your resolutions in any way.

Take care,

Steve Meyer, WTEA President

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