ECC notes

SkillsUSA Champs: Four students in Elgin Community College's heating, ventilation and air conditioning program placed in the Illinois SkillsUSA Championships that were held April 17-19 in Springfield. Two will move on to national competition in June.

Taking first place in the sheet metal competition was Matthew Abangan of St. Charles. Taking second and third, respectively, were Thomas Mauro of Algonquin and Demetrio Diaz of Elgin.

In the HVAC competition, Diaz took first place and Matthew Gebben of Algonquin took second. Abangan's and Diaz's first place wins will advance them to the national SkillsUSA competition on June 22-28 in Kansas City, Mo.

This is the first year ECC has participated in the state competition and it is unusual for a skills team to take first place during their first year of competition, according to Andy Erbach, associate professor of HVAC at ECC.

The participating students spent seven weeks training with five ECC faculty coaches, Erbach and HVAC instructors Bob Meusling, Mike O'Connor, Steve Wood and George Rosa, to prepare for the competition.

Two of the competitors, Mauro and Gebben, began at ECC through the college's Tech Prep program, where students can earn college credit and attend college courses while attending high school. Diaz, one of the winners, will complete his first level certification at ECC this semester.

"I am extremely proud of our students and the entire part-time faculty here at ECC," Erbach said. "Thanks to their dedication and commitment to excellence, our HVAC students are gaining the skills and experience necessary to excel in the heating and air conditioning industry."

SkillsUSA is a national organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations. The organization provides quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development, and also builds and reinforces self-confidence, work attitudes and communications skills.

More than 285,000 students and instructors join SkillsUSA annually and the organization has served more than 9.3 million members.

Phi Theta Kappa: Elgin Community College's Rho Kappa Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society received five awards during the society's 90th International Convention held April 5 in Philadelphia. Nearly 500 chapters competed for awards.

The chapter won the Leadership and Service Hallmark awards; the Distinguished Chapter Award, which is given to the top 25 chapters annually; and was named a top 100 chapter.

Also, Courtney Hamill, an ECC student from Streamwood, won the Distinguished Chapter President Award.

Phi Theta Kappa is the largest honor society in American higher education with more than 2 million members and 1,250 chapters located worldwide. It dates to 1910.

Annually, approximately 100,000 two-year college students are inducted into Phi Theta Kappa. To be eligible for membership, a student must complete a minimum of 12 hours of associate degree course work and earn a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Students must maintain a high academic standing throughout their enrollment in the two-year college, generally a 3.0 GPA.

Women's Intergroup Networking: "Web sites and Podcasts and Blogs -- Oh My!," a Women's Intergroup Networking luncheon, will be hosted by Elgin Community College's Illinois Small Business Development Center on May 20.

The luncheon is sponsored by Old Second Bank, Branch 20 in Elgin and will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at ECC's Fox Valley University and Business Center dining room at the Main Campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. Participants should park in lot 9.

Speaking at the luncheon will be Brian Basilico, an adjunct ECC instructor and president of B2B Interactive Marketing. Basilico, who has extensive Internet marketing experience, will discuss how participants can use Web sites, e-newsletters, blogs, webinars, video and other media to create an integrated marketing approach to improve their Internet presence and boost business.

Following Basilico's presentation and lunch is "3.2.1. Contact!," a presentation by Ellen Huxtable, ECC's ILSBDC women's event coordinator. Huxtable will show participants how to make new and valuable business connections through an innovative networking exercise.

Cost of the luncheon is $25 for members of the participating women's organizations: Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Alliance of Professional Women and the Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce Women in Business, Congregational Church of Batavia Small Business Networking Group, and the following participating chambers of commerce: Algonquin/Lake in the Hills, Elgin, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Northern Kane County, St. Charles, Streamwood and West Chicago.

Cost is $30 for nonaffiliated attendees. The event is sponsored in cooperation with the ILSBDC offices at Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, and College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn.

Registration is required and must be made with payment before May 12.

For more information about the luncheon and to register, call (847) 214-7488 or visit the Web site at www.elgin.edu/sbdc.