Texas/Hawaii Students 1-2 in National Auto Repair Title

21 June 1999

    WASHINGTON -- A two-student team from North Lamar High School in Paris, 
Texas won the national high school auto repair championship at the 1999 FORD/AAA 
STUDENT AUTO SKILLS national finals here today.

    Mark Jones, 18 and Shawn Upchurch, 17, outpaced a field of competitors
from every state to earn more than $70,000 in scholarships and prizes.  Their
instructor is Bo Bolton.

    "Mark and Shawn represent the best of a new generation of automotive
technicians who will be fixing tomorrow's cars," said James Dunst, STUDENT
AUTO SKILLS contest manager.  "With the shortage of trained auto technicians
this country is facing, these two can expect many career options in the
automotive technology field."

    Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that since 1989, more
than 15,000 trained technicians have been retiring annually.  This has
contributed to a current shortage of 60,000 trained automotive technicians.
    The contest, held near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., involved
teams from all 50 states.  At exactly 9:15 a.m., participants sprinted to
identically "bugged" 1999 Ford Explorers, popped the hoods and began
diagnosing and repairing the problems.

    Jones and Upchurch made the necessary repairs in 23 minutes.

    The hands-on portion of the competition counted for 60 percent of the
overall score.  A written exam taken on Sunday counted for 40 percent.

    The STUDENT AUTO SKILLS contest is held to encourage students to pursue
careers in automotive service and is jointly sponsored by Ford Motor Company
and AAA.

    Teams placing second through tenth received awards scaled from $45,000 to
$2,800.  Second place went to Michael Watanabe, 18, and Daniel Bolduc, 17, of
Maui High School in Kahuli, HI. William Radabaugh, 18, and Paul Baldwin, 18,
of the Buckeye Hills Career Center in Rio Grande, Ohio took third place.

    The remaining rankings were as follows:

    4   NH          26  WA
    5   NE          27  NY
    6   KY          28  SD
    7   UT          29  MO
    8   NC          30  IN
    9   CA          31  ND
    10  OR          32  MD
    11  MN          33  LA
    12  GA          34  MI
    13  ID          35  RI
    14  NV          36  VT
    15  WV          37  FL
    16  VA          38  WY
    17  MA          39  MS
    18  AK          40  IA
    19  KS          41  AR
    20  SC          42  NJ
    21  AL          43  CO
    22  TN          44  PA
    23  OK          45  WI
    24  ME          46  AZ
    25  IL          47  MT
                    48  DE
                    49  NM
                    50  CT