HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire - June 16, 2009) - In a showdown of the nation's top high school
automotive technology students, the two-person team from Birdville Career
Center in Haltom City, Texas earned 4th place at the Ford/AAA Student Auto
Skills National Finals. Out of the 50 teams competing, only four were able
to perfectly diagnosis and repair their vehicles without receiving any
demerits. They rounded out the top-four teams and included, in order of
finish: Minnesota, Colorado, Alabama and Texas (see below for a complete
listing of the top-15 finishing order).
Aspiring auto technicians representing Texas, Juan Correa and Andrew
McConnell, were required to correctly identify and repair intentionally
installed "bugs" during the competition. The repairs included the air
conditioning blower, power windows and mirrors and interior and exterior
lights as well as properly diagnosing and repairing problems to the starter
motor and air flow sensor. Their school instructor is Olin R. Harrington.
This annual competition gives auto tech students the opportunity to
showcase their automotive problem-solving capabilities by resolving "real
world" repair challenges in a timed, head-to-head match-up of top teams
representing all 50 states.
More than 9,700 high school juniors and seniors competed in this year's
competition with a record-high $10.7 million in scholarships offered.
Following an online exam, the highest-scorers advanced to their states'
hands-on competition, with the top teams from each state competing today in
Dearborn, Mich., at the National Finals. The 50, two-student teams that
gathered this morning at AAA Michigan, located near Ford World
Headquarters, also completed a 100-question written exam on Monday of which
the results were combined with today's hands-on competition.
Prior to the National Finals, competitors were awarded $9.9 million in
scholarships during the state-level competitions. At the National Finals,
the top-10 teams received additional full and partial scholarships from
some of the leading automotive technology institutions in the country,
including Lincoln College of Technology, University of Northwestern Ohio,
Universal Technical Institute, Ohio Technical College and WyoTech. Lincoln
College of Technology also provided partial scholarships to all of the
national finalists.
Additionally, the high schools of the top-15 teams in the competition will
receive a Ford Edge, Taurus or Fusion for training purposes in their
automotive technology departments.
"Each year, vehicles become more technologically advanced, which increases
the safety and comfort of motorists as well as the need for a skilled,
technically savvy workforce to service them," said Marshall L. Doney, AAA
Automotive, vice president. "The students competing in the Ford/AAA Student
Auto Skills are the future of the automotive industry. Part of AAA's
commitment to provide motorists with solutions for all their automotive
needs includes ensuring they have reliable, quality auto repair options
both now and in the future."
After Doney gave the "start your engines, if you can," command this morning
to begin the national finalists' race to their assigned cars, the
competitors had 90 minutes to accurately diagnose and correctly repair the
deliberate "bugs" placed in the Ford Escape models.
"Supporting talented young individuals in this skills competition is one
reason why the Ford Motor Company sees a solid future for this industry,"
said Darryl Hazel, president, Ford Customer Service Division. "This
competition provides education and scholarships that will help these
students thrive in the automotive industry through a number of career
options, including valuable positions within Ford's dealer network."
This year marked the 60th year of the annual competition, which first began
in 1949 when Harry Truman was in office. This year, AAA marks its 25th year
with the competition, serving as a co-sponsor since 1984. Ford Motor
Company celebrates its 15th year involved in the competition.
The top-15 teams in the 2009 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals
were:
1 Minnesota (Justin Dwyer, Matthew Ludwig) Faribault High School,
Faribault, Minn., instructed by Mark Lessman
2 Colorado (Charles Duran, Dylan Keyes) Doherty High School, Colorado
Springs, Colo., instructed by Brad Wheaton
3 Alabama (Zach Evans, Jared Hudson) Albert P Brewer High School,
Somerville, Ala., instructed by Robert Bryson
4 Texas (Juan Correa, Andrew McConnell) Birdville Career Center,
Halton City, Texas, instructed by Olin R. Harrington
5 California (Eric Reed, Doug Rinnell) San Luis Obispo High School,
San Luis Obispo, Calif., instructed by Jeff Lehmkuhl
6 New York (Mike Palladino, Andrew Matthys) Wayne Tech & Career Center,
Williamson, N.Y., instructed by Chet Kuhn
7 Kansas (Joseph Vanderputten, Dillon Percival) Kaw Area Tech School,
Topeka, Kansas, instructed by Robert Oswald
8 Indiana (Jarrett Coberly, Nicholas Vogler) Pike Central High School,
Petersburg, Ind., instructed by Buddy Lee
9 Arkansas (Brandon & Nolan Hildalgo -- twin brothers) Jacksonville
High School, Jacksonville, Ark., instructed by Shawn Poindexter
10 Iowa (Cody Gudenkauf, Michael Hermsen) West Delaware High School,
Manchester, Iowa, instructed by Jason Guyer
11 Kentucky (Jesse Bardis, Austin White) Shelby Co Area Tech Center,
Shelbyville, Ky., instructed by Bruce Edwards
12 Wisconsin (Kieron Kohlmann, Jonathan Ramczyk) Washington Park
High School, Racine, Wis., instructed by David Dixon
13 Oklahoma (Jeffrey Dill, Jack Gibson) Eastern Oklahoma Co Tech Center,
Choctaw, Okla., instructed by Jim LaFevers
14 Hawaii (Chester Lee Coloma, Edler Espiritu) Maui High School,
Kahului, Hawaii, instructed by Shannon Rowe
15 Wyoming (Alfred Hefenieder, Jesse Hernandez) Worland High School,
Worland, Wy., instructed by Mike Sapp
Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills is a nationwide automotive technology
competition for high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing
careers as automotive service technicians. This year marks the 60th
anniversary of the competition that tests students' automotive knowledge,
workmanship and problem-solving abilities with a written test as well as a
race against the clock to diagnose and properly repair intentionally
"bugged" vehicles. Ford and AAA are dedicated to the competition as part of
their commitment to the future of automotive service in America. For
information on competing in the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills, visit
AutoSkills.com.
AAA news releases, high resolution images, broadcast-quality video, fact
sheets and podcasts are available on the AAA NewsRoom at AAA.com/AutoSkills
Broadcast-quality video of the 2009 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills will be
available to download at
http://www.aaanewsroom.net/videoclips/
Find Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills on Facebook at
http://tinyurl.com/AutoSkills
Contact Information: Dan Ronan
Manager, Corporate Communications/Community Relations
AAA Texas/New Mexico
469-221-8217 work
469-583-7070 cell
Ronan.dan@aaa-texas.com
danronan@sprint.blackberry.net (immediate)
Sarah Schimmer
Media/Public Affairs Houston
AAA Texas/New Mexico
Schimmer.sarah@aaa-texas.com
713-284-6552
281-797-7886