Fifteen years and counting, Skills USA welcomes the holiday season by funding 21 angels from the angel tree.

“We have been doing the angels for five years now,” Skills USA sponsor Ricky Stutt said. “But we have been participating in the Spirit of Christmas for 15 years.”

It started out with the Skills USA restoring bikes.

“They would line up the bicycles at different areas, sometimes Wise County Posse grounds, and the kids would come and pick out the bicycle they wanted,” Stutt said.

This year the group headed to the banks Dec. 1, to pick angels.

“All the banks in Decatur get together and set ‘Spirit of Christmas’ up,” Legend Bank president Dwight Reeves said. “I have been associated with it for 10-12 years.”

Different organizations take cash/check donations to help fund this event.

“The Wise County Adult Probation office has been taking contributions for several years,” Stutt said.

With a total of $1700 donated this year, the Skills USA find the angels they want.

“It’s neat when the students start looking at the angels because they start acting like Santa Claus,” Stutt said.

The next step for Skills USA is to go to Walmart and purchase the gifts.

“My favorite part of the event is actually buying the gifts because it shows us how to give back to the community,” junior Ricky Samano said.

Spending $75 on each angel, the students proceed to Walmart Dec. 8, to purchase the gifts.

“I think it’s wonderful they’re doing this,” Walmart pharmacy tech Janie Grisham said.

Former Skills USA member and Walmart employee Cristina Onofre, 2007 graduate, agrees with Grisham. Onofre  was involved in this event her junior and senior year.

“It’s pretty cool they’re still doing this,” Onofre said. “They could have stopped, but didn’t.

The students enjoy this part of the project because there is a contest involved.

“They break up into groups and each group get a certain number of angels, that vary in ages,” Stutt said. “The amount to spend on each angel is determined and the groups that get the closest to that amount without going over wins the contest.”

Searching the Walmart aisles, each group digs through the shelves to find all the different gifts the kids request.

“It shows us how to use teamwork and to get the most value for the dollar,” Samano said.

After they purchase the gifts, they send them off to the angels hoping they helped a family who couldn’t afford a Christmas.

“It is never about what you receive,” Samano said. “It’s about being with the people you care about.”

Stutt agrees it’s about giving back.

“My whole purpose is to help teenagers become respective and responsible adults,” he said. “Community service helps that. The work, the pleasure and the gratitude of giving back to the community is great. People believe teenagers are all about themselves, but when they are given the opportunity to help others, they step up.”

Stutt keeps his program involved in this organization year after year.

“It’s great to have participation from the school,” Reeves said. “I appreciate all the giving everyone does. It’s a big project getting all the toys together and sending them out to the kids.”

Participating in Skills USA for three years, Samano is the chapter treasurer, district 4 president and state district vice president.

“Skills USA isn’t just about the competition,” Samano said. “It’s about getting into the community and preparing us for the future.”