Salina Public Schools educate and prepare the next generations of employees, leaders, and entrepreneurs right here in Salina. They do this by building bridges events which bring educators, students and employers together, to celebrate Career & Technical Education (CTE) and make our CTE programs even better.
The third annual building bridges event was Nov. 9 at the Stiefel Theater where the culinary students at South prepared treats from all around the world for the attendants of the event. These students spent the entire day preparing all of these dishes to cater for this event.

This was followed by a speech from Travis Young, the CEO of Vortex. A company which specializes in the designing and manufacturing for the transport and flow control of dry bulk solids.
Young also has a big place in the improvement of downtown Salina, he both hosted the Salina Canvas Project as well as the Salina Crossroads Marathon. Young wants to prioritize making Salina a city that can stand out from the rest of Kansas.
“The Art Center, The Yard, our new tennis courts, our new turf baseball diamonds, we have great assets in this community that creates unique life experiences,” Young said during his speech.
Young’s speech was followed by the audience splitting into groups of the different departments in the CTE program, business and marketing, health sciences, construction, hospitality and restaurant as well as manufacturing. These groups would focus on the success of the community and how Salina’s community can be improved.