2025 SkillsUSA Tennessee Postsecondary Advisor of the Year
Donald Drinkard | TCAT Henry/Carroll
Donald Drinkard is in his 11th year of teaching Health Information Management at TCAT Henry/Carroll. He has a Business Finance Degree from Troy University and has worked in both the Finance and Health Care sectors and as an entrepreneur. He also served as co-champion for the TCATs in establishing the Health Information Management Articulation Agreement between the TCATs and the Tennessee Community College System. He has been an advisor of his school’s SkillsUSA Chapter since 2015 and lead advisor since 2018. He has provided leadership for his chapter to get involved in the Chapter of Excellence Program attaining as high as Gold Level Chapter of Distinction.
Mr. Drinkard’s first experience with SkillsUSA was as a contestant in Technical Computer Applications where he won a bronze medal. Since then, he has been a strong advocate for the organization. He has judged the state high school Job Interview competition since 2018. He has served on the SkillsUSA Tennessee Postsecondary Executive Committee three years, the Sector Council, and has been the advisor to three SkillsUSA Tennessee Postsecondary Officers.
When TCAT Paris merged with TCAT McKenzie to form TCAT Henry/Carroll, Mr. Drinkard was instrumental in leading the way for how the SkillsUSA Chapter student leadership organization would be organized, elect officers, and work together to achieve excellence.
Mr. Drinkard has also served as the faculty representative at TCAT Henry/Carroll to Achieving the Dream, and presently serves on the Tennessee Board of Regents Faculty Sub-council. He has been active in community mental health initiatives and his local church congregation. He is also a past winner of the President's Volunteer Service Award, Gold Level.
The SkillsUSA Advisor of the Year program recognizes Professional members who actualize the organization's mission of empowering students to become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible American citizens. A SkillsUSA chapter is only successful with the support of an Advisor who has dedicated themselves to career and technical education by intentionally integrating the SkillsUSA Framework and ensuring students can articulate the skills they have developed. State recipients are submitted to the regional competition. During NLSC, regional winners are interviewed, and a national winner is selected. The deadline to submit the Advisor of the Year application is March 1. Apply Here!
Recipients on the state, regional and national levels will serve as ambassadors to the organization by representing SkillsUSA at conferences, attending and exhibiting on behalf of SkillsUSA at industry trade shows and participating in social media engagement opportunities.
Application areas:
- Philosophy on CTE and SkillsUSA Framework skill development
- Intentional SkillsUSA Framework integration into school and chapter
- Communication of SkillsUSA Framework Skill Development
Eligibility requirements for regional or national consideration:
- Must be a paid, Professional member in the current school year
- Chapter must achieve a minimum of Level 2 within the SkillsUSA Chapter Excellence Program during the current school year