Career Education Center Wins Top Honors at 7th Annual
Phoenix Challenge Flexographic High School Competition

Charlotte, NC. April 1, 2004 - The Career Education Center, Asheville, NC took home top honors on March 19, 2004 after winning the 7th Annual Phoenix Challenge High School Flexographic Skills Competition. The winners, Stephen Schoff and Aaron Grasty, received the prestigious Harper Flexo Cup, as well as a $1000 scholarship each at the Phoenix Challenge Awards Banquet held at the Wyndham Garden Suites, Charlotte, NC. Brooks Michael, instructor at Career Education Center, also received the Diann Teague Award.

Bettylyn Krafft, chairman of the Phoenix Challenge Foundation, commented, “The growth of this year's Phoenix Challenge was a wonderful thing. The success of this competition happens because of the tireless efforts of our board, volunteers, and the support of industry donations. The addition of another Comco Cadet press allowed us to keep all of the participants in the same location and also accommodate the extra participants.”

Schools located in Asheville, NC; Charlotte, NC; Holland, MI; Mississauga, Ontario (Canada); Rock Hill, SC; Williamston, SC and Winnsboro, SC. Additionally, the teacher work sessions (TWS) were a plus for teachers allowing them to attend classes focusing on prepress, inks, media and industry relations and roundtable discussions while earning 16 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).




Career Education Center, Asheville, NC Annual
Phoenix Challenge Flexo Skills Competition
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Earl Gibbs, Jan Hamilton and Lexie Smart from Winnipeg Technical College, Winnipeg, Canada; Joe Marks from York County School of Technology, York, PA; Jim Lynch from Countryside Learning, DeSoto, KS and Bruce Magnuson from Watertown, WI also joined the teacher work sessions this year to gain knowledge and interact with other colleagues as they move forward to start up their new programs.

For more information or to make donations for the upcoming 2005 Phoenix Challenge Competition, please contact Bettylyn Krafft at 704-309-3748 or kps@ix.netcom.com.

The Phoenix Challenge
The 2-day competition includes six areas of rigorous testing: (1) operating a flexo press, (2) prepress, (3) plate making, (4) written knowledge, (5) math skills and (6) overall print quality.
Approximately eight to ten schools participate each year, and each school has the option to bring one or two teams. (A team is made up of two students).

The winning team in each category will be awarded a medal and their school will receive a plaque to proudly display. Additionally, the overall winning team will leave with thousands of dollars in flexo scholarships along with the coveted "Harper Cup" to display at their school for one year. One teacher also receives the Diann Teague Award based on the students’ ability to work together and effectively demonstrate teamwork.

Every student who participates is a winner, and as such, every student will be recognized with a certificate of participation along with well over $100 in industry-sponsored gifts.


Thanks to Our Sponsors
Anagram, All Printing Resource, Anderson & Vreeland Midwest, Inc., Benton Graphics. Betty N. Boyd, Canflexographics, Carolina Container, Carolina Snack Services, Central Piedmont Community College, CL & D Graphics, DuPont Imaging Technology, FlexoExchange, LLC, Foundation of Flexographic Technical Assn., Inc (FFTA), Harper Corporation of America, Howard B. Vreeland, Jr., J R Cole Industries, JET USA Corp., Knight Ridder, Krafft Printing Systems, Inc., Larry Wm. Evans, Mark Andy, Inc., Mastergraphics, Inc. NS Flexibles LLC., Parks Printing, Pizza Hut of America, Inc. Plastic Packaging, Inc., Praxair, Ron & Katherine Harper, Rogers Corporation, Simpson Computing, Inc., Water Ink Technologies, Wikoff Color Corp.