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$8M in Scholarships and Prizes to be Awarded in Ford/AAA Contest

8 December 1998

$8 Million in Scholarships and Prizes to be Awarded in 1999 Ford/AAA STUDENT AUTO SKILLS CONTEST

    ORLANDO, Fla.--Dec. 7, 1998--More than 6,000 of the nation's top high school auto technicians will be competing for $8 million in scholarships and prizes in the 1999 Ford/AAA STUDENT AUTO SKILLS contest.
    The contest begins with written qualifying exams for state-level competitions in February and March.
    The top teams from the written exam in each state will qualify for state hands-on competitions in April and May. They will compete side-by-side to quickly and accurately repair identically disabled vehicles.
    The top team in each state will compete in the national finals in Washington D.C. on June 21, 1999.
    "Teams from both the state and national contests can take advantage of scholarships to some of the top automotive training institutions, and their current schools will receive vehicles and equipment to help with future training," said James Dunst, national manager of the STUDENT AUTO SKILLS contest.
    The demand for skilled automotive technicians is increasing dramatically, according to AAA and Ford.
    "There is a need for more than 100,000 new automotive technicians each year," said Dunst. "Plus, more than half of the existing technicians will be retiring in the next 15 years."
    The contest is open to high school seniors who are in a high school or vocational school automotive technician program. Registration for the STUDENT AUTO SKILLS state-level written qualifying exams ends Dec. 17, 1998.
    For registration information, call 407/444-8378; fax 407/444-8030; or write to: STUDENT AUTO SKILLS - MS 75, 1000 AAA Drive, Heathrow, FL 32746-5063.

    AAA news releases can be downloaded from http://www.aaa.com/news