What’s So Cool About Manufacturing® 7th Annual Statewide Awards takes place at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg, PA 

What’s So Cool About Manufacturing® 7th Annual Statewide Awards takes place at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg, PA 

For Immediate Release
Kim I Plyler
CEO SahlComm

Harrisburg, PA. – May 14th, 2025 – What’s So Cool About Manufacturing® (WSCM) is proud to announce the award recipients for the seventh annual “Best of PA” Statewide Awards Event. The awards show was held at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg, PA, and began at 12:30 pm. This year, the contest included 23 student teams competing for first, second and third place awards, and recognition for the Statewide Viewers Choice winner. 

“The continued success of the What’s So Cool program validates its effort to generate excitement toward careers in the manufacturing sector and to promote STEM education and technical training among students and parents.” said Karen Buck, Director Workforce Initiatives Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC). “We are so excited and proud to celebrate the Best of PA 2025 student teams and highlight their videos!” 

This year’s award winners are as follows: 

Statewide Viewers Choice recognition:  

Central Columbia Middle School featuring Strong Industries from the Central Susquehanna contest, was recognized for garnering the largest number of regional vote totals across the state, during three days of online voting where all Pennsylvania teams competed to win their regional Viewers Choice Award. 

The 2025 program in Pennsylvania included 167 middle school teams from 12 regional contests.  Spearheading the 2025 regional contests in Pennsylvania are as follows:  

Berks Schuylkill Program:  Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC), and partners Berks Business-Education Coalition (BBEC), eMediaWorks, Kutztown Small Business Development Center, and Sahl Communications 

Central Susquehanna Program: Innovative Manufacturers’ Center (IMC), Advance Central PA, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit,  and The Foundation of the Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce  

Chester Delaware Program: Manufacturing Alliance of Chester and Delaware Counties  

Lehigh Valley Program: Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC), and partners eMediaWorks, EmpowerStar Enterprises, and Sahl Communications  

North Central Program: Workforce Solutions for North Central Pennsylvania  

Northern Tier Program: Northern Tier Regional Planning & Development Commission (NTRPDC) 

Philadelphia Region Program: Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC)  

Pittsburgh Central Program: Catalyst Connection  

Pittsburgh East Program: Catalyst Connection 

South Central Program: MANTEC 

Southern Alleghenies Program: Bedford County Technical Center (BCTC), the Bedford County Development Association, and the Bedford County 21st Century Community Learning Center Consortium 

West Central Program: Lawrence Mercer Manufacturers Coalition 

The “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” Student Video Contest, which originated in the Lehigh Valley and is the brainchild of MRC, has garnered over 6,000,000 combined votes by the public during regional online voting dates since its inception in 2013, and more than 60% of Pennsylvania school districts have participated in the program.
 

The WSCM Student Video Contest gives students the opportunity to interact with local manufacturers as they gain new perspectives about careers and technology, record their experiences, and present them in an educational and “cool” way through documentary video production. The “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” program includes a Pennsylvania Department of Education approved lesson plan that is in use across the Commonwealth. The contest was created to generate excitement that draws students toward considering manufacturing career paths to create a 21st century workforce. 

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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 and technology in manufacturing through “peer marketing” (kids telling kids what’s so cool about manufacturing jobs). The contest is showcased on the What’s So Cool Website and shared nationally through the Manufacturing Institute and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership platforms. The Lehigh Valley contest has expanded across the Commonwealth and the country.  

The “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” comprehensive manufacturing video library was created by MRC and WSCM PA in 2020 and funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (PADCED). The interactive library of the who’s who in Pennsylvania manufacturing, garnered from the yearly regional contests, is intended to serve as an educational resource for anyone curious about manufacturing in Pennsylvania. The library can be accessed through the 

WhatsSoCool.org website and contains over 1400 student videos featuring 600 Pennsylvania manufacturers. 

This contest allows students 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 CTC and STEM education. Original funding for “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” was furnished by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (PADCED). 

About Manufacturers Resource Center: For 35 years, the Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) has helped small and mid-sized manufacturers become more competitive, adopt lean and agile processes, strategically grow their companies, and invest more effectively in their existing human capital. MRC is a nonprofit organization partially funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s NIST-MEP program and the State of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development. MRC is dedicated to creating jobs and economic opportunities in eastern Pennsylvania’s Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties. Learn more at www.mrcpa.org. 

Kim I Plyler
CEO SahlComm
306 S New Street
Bethlehem, Pa 18015
484-554-5582