Centennial Celebration

ACTE Turns 100!

The Association for Career and Technical Education is proud to announce it will celebrate its 100th anniversary at CareerTech VISION 2026, happening Dec. 2-5 in New Orleans, Louisiana! Beginning January 2025 there will be a regular series of announcements, run-up celebrations and a 100-year trivia challenge.

The ACTE Centennial Celebration will focus on key events and activities that have helped build today’s largest membership organization dedicated to the professionals who prepare our nation’s learners for successful careers. Included in the Centennial Celebration will be a showcase of artifacts through the years, featuring the many people and organizations who contributed to the growth and success of career and technical education (CTE) throughout the 100 years.

In 2016 ACTE’s Board of Directors in anticipation of the historical mark created a restricted account that would be developed from annual proceeds to provide funds to support Centennial Celebration activities and resources. In 2022, ACTE convened a Centennial Planning Committee to develop ideas, plan activities, and coordinate gathering and presenting artifacts from the organization’s history.

Currently planned throughout the period running up to December 2026 include:

  • ACTE Trivia Challenge with 100 questions, over 100 weeks concluding at the 100th anniversary celebration at VISION 2026
  • Student Merch Design Contest: In honor of ACTE’s 100th anniversary we invite students to submit original artwork for a chance to be featured on our official centennial merch.
  • Articles in Techniques magazine, spotlighting the Association’ significant historical events with a special centennial issue. Be sure to check out the January 2025 issue, Celebrating a Century in Print, and the article “ACTE: From 1925 to the Present Day.”

The Centennial Celebration planning committee welcomes input and suggestions, as well as the identification of artifacts that could be included in a showcase, from members and affiliated CTE organizations. Please contact actecentennial@acteonline.org for more information or to submit ideas. Be sure to check back to this page as more plans and announcements are made in preparation to celebrate ACTE’s 100-year anniversary.