LEESBURG, VA — Brett Johnson, 21, of Checotoh, OK, recently won a Diploma of Honor in Refrigeration during the 36th biennial World Skills Competition (WSC) held this September in Seoul, South Korea.

Johnson was a member of TeamUSA, which is sponsored by SkillsUSA-Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (VICA) and supported by numerous industry associations and manufacturers. Johnson won the right to represent the U.S. in the WSC by winning the national SkillsUSA competition. TeamUSA ranked fourth in the world based on contestant score average.

“This is the best any American team has ever done at the WSC,” said Tim Lawrence, executive director of SkillsUSA-VICA. “We’re proud of Brett for the job he did in the four-day competition. It was a tough competition and tough emotionally because the terrorist attacks happened while we were in Korea. The outpouring of support we received was fantastic. Our team got a standing ovation from 34 nations as we paraded into the opening session. We held the American flag high.”