BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE AUTAUGA NEWS
Top Photo courtesy of Elmore County Commission
Tuesday night the Elmore County Commission had special recognition for Stanhope Elmore High School students Aiden Klinger and Phoenix Dale for winning the State Championship in Cyber Security at the Alabama SkillsUSA Conference.
The SEHS SkillsUSA chapter is in its second year and led by Coach Blake Cook.
Klinger and Dale are seniors, and this year competed in Cyber Security at the State Conference. This qualified them for the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, Ga., June 24 through June 28.
Alabama holds a State SkillsUSA Conference with numerous competitions to demonstrate workplace and technical skills.
Commission members congratulated the students on this amazing accomplishment and hopes for their success in the future.
Coach Cook spoke to the Commission Tuesday about the exceptional accomplishment of Klinger and Dale.
“SkillsUSA is a service organization that career technical education allows us to go in and do different leadership roles and tasks. It gives them work experience in areas of interest that they have. So, in Cyber Security they do things like personal security, system security and network security. In the competition itself they were competing against 11 other schools at the state level,” Coach Cook said. “At the National level each state will have a team that competes. They will be doing the same thing all the way through doing a security plus test that will actually give them a certification that they can carry with them into a career.”
Commission Chairman Bart Mercer spoke on cyber security, and the importance of it not just in the county but across state government as well.
“This is a big deal. You are getting off to a good start,” Mercer said.
Commissioner Mack Daugherty said that both he and Commissioner Hill have over 30 years of law enforcement experience and appreciate what the students have accomplished.
“If you ask Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin what the number one crime or concern in Elmore County is, his answer is Cyber Crimes,” Daugherty said. “People don’t normally think that about a small county. But it is happening everywhere, and I could not be more proud of you guys. No pun intended, but you are going to have job security forever because you are in such demand and probably the FBI or Homeland Security will scoop you up really quick. I congratulate you. This is just wonderful, and we are so proud of you.”
Commissioner Desirae Jackson told the young men that cyber security is a growing concern, and their talents could definitely be used in the future on a county level right here at home.
Commissioner Henry Hines told the students that recently he had a family member scheduled for a medical procedure, but it had to be delayed because the hospital had been the victim of a cyber-attack. “We appreciate you and look forward to great things out of you.”
The EAN would like to congratulate Klinger and Dale on their accomplishment and wish them the best of luck this summer at the national level competition.
