New Maintenance Crisis Song Video now available online

Check out this instant classic!

http://vidego.multicastmedia.com/player.php?v=an96iy04

Fighting the Maintenance Crisis on a new front

Saturday turned out to be a very interesting. productive day in the fight against the maintenance crisis. Greta Lint accepted first place award for media promotion of the Great Heads of Statesville Exit Poll at the NC Press Club and now is entered in competiton at the national level.

In addition to members of the professional media, also in attendance were students and teacher adivisors of school newspapers who won entries in the high school press competition.

While there was able to offer the maintenance crisis as a story tip to the students and school newspaper advisors. Several jaws dropped when I cited out details of the compensation and the amount of need and the volume of pending retirees in the skilled functions. One teacher said we never hear about this issue. Drove home the message when I shared with them a quote from an nuclear power plant exec who stated that when their new nuke plant goes online, he will have to hire every licensed electrician in a four state area. Then I asked how many of their friends want to be American Idols, and how many want to be electricians.

Hopefully these students will help attract new recruits in the fight against the maintenance crisis.

Politics, Pumpkins and Awards, Oh My!

In this era of several hundred TV shows, thousand of online programs, millions of blogs, and other media outlets, it is very hard to make a lasting impression. So when you hear about people talking about an event from almost six months ago and then later learn that you won an media promotion from NC Press Club, you know have done something special.

Congratulations to Greta Anita Lint for taking a crazy idea and making it work by creating and promoting The Great Heads of Statesville Exit Poll. http://thegreatheadsofstatesvilleexitpoll.blogspot.com/

On Saturday, Greta Lint and Joel Leonard (her creative department) will be attending the 2009 NC Press Club Awards Banquet where Greta will receive her 1st place award. Below Greta is on her way to share some unique economic development strategies with the World Bank.

As great as it is for peers to recognize achievement, the greater result from this crazy event is that numerous kids were turned onto engineering careers- now that is true economic development.

Calibrating Aspirations to Real Opportunities

Post 911, it has been very difficult for kids to get an accurate understanding and appreciation of the workplace because security designed to keep bad people away also keeps away kids' ability to tour, see, and interact in a modern business environment.

Therefore they make career decisions based on what they see in school and TV, which as we all know does not provide the full picture of the business world. As a result employers who have real needs, have to turn lots of people away in search of qualified workers.

With the baby boomers retiring, with skilled jobs becoming more available in mass, yet the unemployment levels growing disturbingly high, it is very important that accurate information about the skills and attitudes required for more to reach success in this very challenging era be dispensed.

SkillTV just attended Technology Career Day at Guilford Technical Community College. High school kids from several area counties were bused in and were able to meet with numerous employers to talk about real, high paying jobs for those with qualified skills and learned how to earn those qualifications.

If more communities around the world invest more time in these type of efforts, then more of the aspirations of our youth will begin to match to the real needs of our employers.

SkillTV sends out special thanks and congratulations to the Piedmont Triad Partnership, GTCC, ISA, the MPACT Learning Center and all of the other organizations who participated in developing a very special learning event.

Salmonella and Jelly Poem

There was an exec like no other
his company made peanut butter
He refused to do maintenance and thus made profits above the norm
That is until his plant was hit by a big storm
His maintenance manager had a huge backlog of workorders to fill
but the exec said no and would not pay the pay the bills
Water and bird *** got in the batch
because the maintenance staff could not repair the hatch.
Later people all over the country died,
and then the exec tried to cover up and lied,
Even the exec won't even eat peanut butter and jelly

because he knows he would get sick if it got in his belly.
He used to brag that his company was the best
but now he wishes he listened to maintenance so that he would avoid all of this mess.

News Break: SkillTV to Host Hottest Head Competition

In an effort to break down the silos of the Facilities Engineering sector and the public, SkillTV proudly announces that on Saturday April 18th in Asheboro, NC, we will be hosting the Hottest Head Contest. Infrared Thermography Experts Stockton Infrared will be taking time off from using their trusty FLIR infrared thermographic camera to monitor and diagnose circuit breakers, steam pipes and roofs to measure and compare the forehead temperatures of contestants who dare to consume "Liquid Stoopid" and other inflammatory hot sauces. See what happened to Santa above when he ate a cookie soaked in Hot Sauce. He couldn't wait to get back to the North Pole.

We hope that this event will help more understand the opportunities of predictive technologies and perhaps help inspire interest in future generations in the much needed Skilled Trades professions.

So come join us as we educate the masses and have fun too. http://www.asheborochilicookoff.com/ By the way, SkillTV's host Joel Leonard will also be entering the Chili cooking competition with his concoction of Frangelica marinated Ribeye cubes, and special beans cooked in a gallon of Chimay Belgian beer and one bottle of flavorful Tiger Sauce mixed in.

The Power of Automation

To the left is Brad Kemmerer, President of ABCO Automation, Inc. He recently gave Joel Leonard a tour of his facility and demonstrated this newly built custom automated work cell. This machine performs the work of numerous operator but still requires human support to ensure proper, continual performance. The new skills needed for modern maintenance technicians continue to grow as the complexity and sophistication of modern machines increase.

A Tweeting we shall go!

Last week, we finally got the tech-courage up to overcome the learning curve and start tweeting on Twitter.com

Come join us at http://twitter.com/SkillTV and follow our attempts to communicate in less than 140 characters.

SkillTV Update:A little Chin Foliage, National News, Upcoming Conference and Congress

After returning from Dubai in December Joel Leonard has been hunkering down working to get his book on fighting the maintenance crisis out this spring. As a result, he let a little chin foliage grow out. Now since his beloved Greta has grown attached to the new facial outgrowth, he has decided to keep it, at least for a while. Don't worry the SkillTV logo will remain the same. And if you attend NFMT next week, you will be able to recognize Joel and give him your opinions first hand on SkillTV.

Thanks again for all of your support and feedback! This week Joel, possibly, will be interviewed by NBC and next week hopes to interview several US Senators in DC after speaking at NFMT in Baltimore on the 11th.

Background info on the background - Joel is standing in his backyard and behind him is a 60 foot high water tank that Joel and neighbors use as a backdrop to watch LCD projected movies during weekend campfires. Who said technology couldn't be fun?

Stay tuned as the Putman Media edit team will be unveiling numerous videos in the coming weeks on SkillTV.net and we hope that you are getting some good info from SkillTV and having fun as well!