FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2021
Contact: Kim Plyler
kim@sahlcomm.com
484-554-5582
Voting Begins for “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” Berks Schuylkill
Student Video Contest’s Online Voting Opens This Week
READING, Pa. – April 13, 2021 – The Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) is proud
to announce online voting for the fifth year of the “What’s So Cool About
Manufacturing?” (WSCM) student video contest will commence Wednesday April 14,
12:01AM and remain open until Friday April 16, 11:59PM.
To vote, log on to https://www.whatssocool.org/ The winner will be announced during
this year’s awards event April 26th.
Student videos compete for the most votes to win the coveted “Viewers Choice Award.”
The videos will also be reviewed by a panel of judges for awards in six other categories,
including Outstanding Career Pathway and Outstanding Creativity.
This year’s hybrid awards program will be taped in advance and aired on WFMZ, Gold
Media Partner, TV station and streamed online at WFMZ.com on April 26, 2021 at
7:30 PM.
“Though this has been a year of changes and challenges the WSCM program has stayed
on course,” said Terri Lampe Melcher, MRC’s Business Development Manager in Berks
County. “We are expecting high vote totals this year based on the hard work students,
teachers, and manufacturers have put into sharing their message about what is so cool
about manufacturing with the community.”
Partnering with MRC for the project are eMediaWorks, Sahl Communications, Inc and
EmpowerStar Marketing. Educational media resources, digital assets, professional media technology training from eMediaWorks, materials, and project costs were funded and made possible by the following:
Platinum Technology Sponsor; Berk County Workforce Development Board. Platinum
Sponsors; Berks Business-Education Coalition, Manufacturers Resource Center. Gold
Sponsors; Berks County Industrial Development Authority, County of Berks, Customers Bank, East Penn Manufacturing Company, eMediaWorks, Hydro, M&T Bank, Sahl Communications, Inc., Viwinco, Inc., Weidenhammer, and WFMZ-TV.
Silver Sponsors; American Crane & Equipment Corporation, Appeeling Fruit, American Polarizers, Inc., Ashland Technologies, Inc., Brentwood Industries, Cardinal Systems, Inc., Eagle Metals, Inc., First Energy, First National Bank, Fromm Electric, Mrs. T’s Pierogies, Marathon Capital Advisors, Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials Inc., Palram Americas, Reading Area Community College, R. M. Palmer Company, Sunsweet Growers, Inc. and Sweet Street Desserts, Inc. Bronze Sponsors; Berks Career and Technology Center, Berks County Intermediate Unit, Hubric Resources, Misco Products Corporation, Reading Muhlenberg Career & Technology Center, Riverview Bank, Schuylkill County Intermediate Unit, Schuylkill Technology Center, Solar Innovations Architectural Glazing Systems, SOLO Laboratories, Inc., and WORLD electronics. Media Sponsors; BCTV, Reading Eagle, and WFMZ-News. For more information regarding the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” Video
Contest please visit www.whatssocool.org Facebook and Twitter @WSCMBerksSchuylkill.
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About “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?”™:
Developed by Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC), the WSCM program is a video
based educational tool that increases awareness of career paths in manufacturing. MRC developed this innovative career awareness program, which at its core is “peer
marketing” (kids telling kids what’s so cool about manufacturing jobs). The contest is
showcased on the What’s So Cool Website, https://www.whatssocool.org and shared
nationally through the Manufacturing Institute and the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership platforms. The contest is expanding across the Commonwealth and the
country. The WSCM Video Library was created as a digital resource housing more than
800 student-created videos showcasing 500 Pennsylvania manufacturers, https://
www.whatssocool.org/video-library/. This contest gives students the opportunity to
connect with local manufacturers, document their experiences and present them in an
educational and “cool” way. The contest was created to generate excitement that draws
students towards manufacturing career paths and CTE and STEM education.