DAWSON CREEK – The students representing the Peace Region at the 18th annual Skills Canada British Columbia championships in Abbotsford gathered at Northern Lights College for a sendoff on Tuesday morning.

Team members were presented with jackets, and also assembled for a group photo, before departing for their flight to the Lower Mainland.

The Peace Region team is comprised of 20 competitors, including middle school, high school, and post-secondary students. Qualifiers were selected based on their performances at the Peace Region competition in March, held at NLC and Dawson Creek Secondary School.

Members of the Peace Region team competing at the provincials include:

Junior Division
· Spaghetti Bridge: McKayla Dawson, Leah Thomson, Aaron Glover, Rachel McPhail
· Gravity Cars: Jarrod Krane, Keatton Tiernan

Secondary Division
· TV/Video Production: Bryan VanGenne, William MacElheren
· Architectural CAD Design: Kelsey Wozniak
· Cabinetmaking: Lucas Stratuliak
· Carpentry: Marcus Bullert
· Cosmetology: Carmen Mitchell
· Welding: Austin Biddulph

Post-Secondary Division
· Culinary Arts: Casey Gairdner
· Aircraft Maintenance: Kristin Thackeray, Kristen Piazzini, Jeff Quock
· Carpentry: Kyle Turner
· Cosmetology: Kaley Garant
· Welding: Branden Bowerman

Contributions were received from several organizations towards the travel costs for the event: EnCana Natural Gas, School District 59 Parent Advisory Committee, School Districts 59 and 60, and the Northern Lights College Foundation.

The provincial championships will be held on Wednesday, April 18 at Tradex in Abbotsford. For more information or results, go to www.skillscanada.bc.ca.

Members of the Peace Region Skills Canada team on Tuesday morning, prior to leaving for the Provincials in Abbotsford.