ABOUT THE CONTESTS
The annual What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? video contests excite students to explore cool manufacturing careers and produce profiles of companies throughout Pennsylvania. Judges in each regional contest bestow a variety of awards, and each contest features an online vote at WhatsSoCool.org for its Viewers Choice Award.
Created by the Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) in Allentown, PA in 2013, the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? contests draw entries from teams across 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. The contest’s objective is to change students’ perceptions about manufacturing careers.
The What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? contests are supported regionally by their sponsors and partners. Production support is provided for several of the contests by eMediaWorks in Center Valley, PA, and additional partners. There were 16 regional contests held in Pennsylvania during the 2018-2019 school year. The contest format also has been adopted by groups in more than a dozen additional states.
CREATION OF THE CONTESTS
Funds to develop the contests were provided in 2013 by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development’s “Discovered in PA, Developed in PA” program for an MRC project called Lehigh Valley Skill-Up. Original Skill-Up project partners were the MRC, Lehigh Career and Technical Institute (LCTI), the Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board, and the Da Vinci Science Center.
PENNSYLVANIA CONTESTS
BERKS SCHUYLKILL
Contest Manager: Karen Buck
Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC), Allentown, PA
610.628.4626
CHESTER DELAWARE
Contest Manager: Patti VanCleave
Manufacturing Alliance of Chester and Delaware Counties, Exton, PA
610.321.8212
NORTHEAST PA
Contest Manager: Angela Hensley
Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center, Hanover Township, PA
610.401.3236
PHILADELPHIA REGION
Contest Manager: Tony Girifalco
DVIRC, Philadelphia, PA
215.464.8550
PITTSBURGH NORTH
Contest Manager: Scott Deitz
Catalyst Connection, Pittsburgh, PA
412.918.4227
WEST CENTRAL PA
Contest Manager: Laurie Knoll
Northwestern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center, Erie, PA
814.217.6066
CENTRAL PA
Contest Manager: Jason Fink
Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce
570.320.4213
LEHIGH VALLEY
Contest Manager: Karen Buck
Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC), Allentown, PA
610.628.4626
NORTHERN TIER PA
Contest Managers: Frank Thompson
Northern Tier Regional Planning & Development Commission, Towanda, PA, 570.265.9103
Ethan Sexton
Northern Tier Regional Planning & Development Commission, Towanda, PA, 570.265.9103
PITTSBURGH CENTRAL
Contest Manager: Scott Deitz
Catalyst Connection, Pittsburgh, PA
412.918.4227
PITTSBURGH SOUTH
Contest Manager: Scott Deitz
Catalyst Connection, Pittsburgh, PA
412.918.4227
BEST OF PA
Contest Manager: Karen Buck
Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC), Allentown, PA
610.628.4626
CENTRAL SUSQUEHANNA
COMING IN FALL 2019
Contest Managers: Tanya Dynda, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, Milton, PA, 570.523.1155, Ext. 2234
Lauri Moon, Innovative Manufacturers’ Center, Williamsport, PA, 570.329.3200, Ext. 8085
NORTH CENTRAL PA
Contest Manager: Pam Streich
North Central Workforce Development Board, Ridgway, PA
814.245.1835
NORTHWEST PA
Contest Manager: Laurie Knoll
Northwestern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center, Erie, PA
814.217.6066
PITTSBURGH EAST
Contest Manager: Scott Deitz
Catalyst Connection, Pittsburgh, PA
412.918.4227
SOUTH CENTRAL PA
Contest Manager: Leigh Ann Wilson
MANTEC, York, PA
717.843.5054
PREVIOUS CONTESTS
2014-2018 Contests