The What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? video contest has closed a record-breaking year with contests in eight Pennsylvania regions that drew entries from 117 student teams.
Created by the Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) in Allentown, PA, the annual video contest excites students to explore cool manufacturing careers and produce profiles of companies throughout Pennsylvania. The teams of students and teacher coaches receive camera equipment, software, and professional guidance as they learn to script, record, and edit their video stories. Judges bestow a variety of awards and fans vote online for its Viewers Choice Award. The contest’s objective is to change students’ perceptions about manufacturing careers.
First held in 2013, the flagship Lehigh Valley area contest has become so popular that its format has been adopted in seven additional communities – Berks and Chester counties; Cambria and Somerset counties; Chester and Delaware counties; North Central PA; the Philadelphia Region; the Pittsburgh area; and South Central PA.
The MRC produces the Lehigh Valley area and Berks County area contests. The Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia produces the Philadelphia Region contest. The Manufacturing Alliance of Chester and Delaware Counties produces the contest for Chester and Delaware counties. The North Central Workforce Development Board in Ridgeway, Elk County, produces the North Central PA contest, and MANTEC in York County produces the South Central PA contest. Catalyst Connection in Pittsburgh produces the contests for the Pittsburgh area and for Cambria and Somerset counties under the name of Explore the New Manufacturing.
The MRC provides logistical and promotional support and manages online voting for these affiliated contests on the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? digital platform. Production support for several of the contests was provided by PBS39 Lehigh Valley in Bethlehem, PA.
An Outstanding Program award was given by judges in three of contests to recognize overall excellence. A list of all 2017 Viewers Choice Award and Outstanding Program Award winners are as follows:
Viewers Choice Awards
- Berks: Tamaqua Area Middle School, Tamaqua, PA, for its profile of Highwood USA
- Cambria and Somerset: Rockwood Area School District, Rockwood, PA, for its profile of Clapper’s Industries
- Chester and Delaware: Kennett Middle School, Kennett Square, PA, for its profile of Schramm, Inc.
- Lehigh Valley: Northampton Area Middle School, Northampton, PA, for its profile of Dynalene
- North Central PA: St. Marys Area Middle School, St. Marys, PA, for its profile of Horizon Technology
- Philadelphia Region: Eisenhower Science & Technology School, Norristown, PA, for its profile of Emball’Iso USA
- Pittsburgh: Burgettstown Area School District, Burgettstown, PA, for its profile of Hormann High Performance Doors
- South Central PA: Eastern York School District, Wrightsville, PA, for its profile of SWF Industrial
Outstanding Program Awards
- Berks: Muhlenberg Middle School, Reading, PA, for its profile of Appeeling Fruit
- Lehigh Valley: Wilson Area Middle School, Easton, PA, for its profile of Orbel Corporation
- Philadelphia Region: Neil A. Armstrong Middle School, Fairless Hills, PA, for its profile of New Age Industries
About the Manufacturers Resource Center
The Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) is dedicated to creating jobs and economic opportunity in eastern Pennsylvania’s Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties. MRC is a nonprofit organization partially funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s NIST-MEP program, as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development.
News Story Contact
Karen Buck, Manufacturers Resource Center
Allentown, PA, 610.628.4626