June 22 - 24 I spent in Kansas City, MO at the 2010 SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC). There were about 14,000 students, teachers and industry partners there, 5,600 students were participating in 96 different skill and leadership championships. In addition to the contests, the TECHSPO featured 76,000 sq ft of exhibit space making it the largest technical education trade show in the nation! The SkillsUSA University consisted of valuable sessions about leadership, employability and SkillsUSA related topics. The Opening Ceremony on Wednesday night was a high energy event. Held at the Kemper Arena, students went overwhelmed with enthusiasm and spirit for their state and for SkillsUSA. The keynote speaker, Mike Holmes (from "Holmes on Homes") was funny and informal but had a valuable message: Do what you love, do it well and be honest! Overall, it was a great week, I'm thankful for the opportunity to attend and I hope that AWFS can become an industry partner for SkillsUSA and the Cabinetmaking contest.