WESTPORT, Conn. - The 2005 Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo) will host the finals of the HVAC technical competition for SkillsUSA, a national organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled, and service occupations.

The event is sponsored by the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) and will take place on Feb. 7 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the show floor in Orlando, Fla.

The SkillsUSA competition in the HVACR skill area will determine who will go on to represent the United States in the WorldSkills Competition in Helsinki, Finland in May 2005.

Contestants competing at the AHR Expo have been chosen from the winners and runners-up from the two most recent years of the annual SkillsUSA Championships held in Kansas City, Mo.

The contestants will compete against each other and the clock to see who will be the lone U.S. representative to face HVACR students from around the world.

The students who will compete in the HVACR finals are Ryan Hanna from West Virginia, Michael Kelly from Nevada, Shawn Wasielewski from Pennsylvania, and Bradley Webb from Kentucky.

Publication date: 11/22/2004