Welcome back to the Spring Semester.  I hope everyone had a great winter break and holiday season!  

Introduction

I am Chris Komer, your new IDEA president.  I have been a member of IDEA since 2005 and have been a board member since 2019.  I have taught a variety of different drafting, design, and CAD courses throughout the years.  I am excited to be the new president of IDEA, and look forward to working with the IDEA board and the dedicated drafting and design teachers throughout the State of Illinois.

Fall Semester

This fall, we saw another productive semester for the organization.  We hosted a combined format for the ITEC conference that allowed TEAI and the IDEA to offer two days of hands-on activities for educators.  We hope that you had a chance to attend and enjoyed the format.  If you have any feedback, please let us know as we are always working on providing the best opportunities for our members. 

Spring Semester

The IDEA board has been working hard this winter on recruitment efforts with the goal of reaching every drafting and design teacher in the State.  We are looking to grow the organization with membership renewals and new members, who are welcome to join.  Educator dues are $40 and can be paid online by going to the IDEA membership page.

Regional and State Competitions

We will again be hosting the annual regional and IDEA state competitions.  A brief of the information is listed below and more details can be found on the IDEA competition page.

*You must be a member of IDEA for your students to compete in the competitions.

*The regional competition sites are listed under the competition tab in the teachers section.  We have been actively working to keep this map up to date and maintain relationships with our community colleges to be able to offer these competitions.  If you are in an area that is not served by a regional, please contact  our Competition Director, Steve Skorup. We will try and work with someone in your area to start a new regional site or direct you to a site that can accommodate your students.

*The regional competitions all have different dates. They are being offered within a window of February 17th -March 24th.

*All competition registrations are due by February 1st.  Registration is $10 for each student competing and again, you will need to pay your $40 educator dues as well if you are not already a member for this school year.

*Registration forms are online.  The registration documents are via a Google Docs form and can be found on the teachers competition page.  Registration will be handled by Joe Sieczkowski and PayPal is available as a payment option.

*The state competition this year will be held on Saturday, April 22nd, at Illinois State University.  The number of students in the various contests will determine how many 1st and 2nd place winners advance to the state competition.  See specific rules and regulations and awards placement for more information.

* We need your help! We are looking for member and educator volunteers to judge state competitions. Judges will only participate in competitions your students are not competing in.  More information to come. 

Thank You

Thank you to the teachers for all the work you put in to get your students registered and ready, and to the students for taking the time and effort to compete in this competition.  Thank you to our IDEA board who do a lot of work to make sure this organization and the competition continues to run as smoothly as possible.  Lastly, thanks to all the regional directors and Illinois State University for hosting our competitions and putting in all the work that is required to facilitate them.

Sincerely,

Chris Komer – IDEA President