AAA Holds Skills Competition for Student Auto Technicians

MINNEAPOLIS, April 14 -- AAA and Ford once again will determine the best young auto technicians in the country. Minnesota students will compete in the hands-on portion of the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition on Wednesday, April 27, 2005, at the Hennepin Technical College (9000 Brooklyn Boulevard, Brooklyn Park, parking lot 4).

Contest preparation will begin at 8 a.m., competition held 9:30 - 11 a.m., and award ceremony at 1 p.m.

Initial qualifying written exams for the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills program were administered to high school automotive program teams in February and March, and the top ten Minnesota teams will participate in this hands-on competition. Ford Motor Company, through Hertz Rental Car, will provide 2005 model year autos that are "bugged" with identical problems that the students must diagnose in the 90-minute contest. The team fixing the most auto problems in the least amount of time will win the state competition.

  The two-student teams include:

  Bemidji High School, Bemidji
  Instructor:     Andy Olson
  Students:       John Latourelle and Travis Olson

  Blue Earth Area High School, Blue Earth
  Instructor:     Gary Engler
  Students:       Eric Esser and Andrew Salic

  Burnsville High School, Burnsville
  Instructor:     Russell Tesmer II
  Students:       James Gatto and Peter McCallum

  Fairmont High School, Fairmont
  Instructor:     Curtis Christensen
  Students:       Sam Cress and Michael Frerichs

  Faribault High School, Faribault
  Instructor:     Mark Lessman
  Students:       Ryan Pankratz and Ryan Prechel

  Mesabi East High School, Aurora
  Instructor:     George Haraden
  Students:       Jessica Burke and Joseph Sowers

  Moorhead High School, Moorhead
  Instructor:     Darvin Miller
  Students:       Brandon Hjermstad and Derek Zarling

  New Ulm High School, New Ulm
  Instructor:     Joel Boehlke
  Students:       Lucas Johnson and Jeffrey Schneider

  Northfield High School, Northfield
  Instructor:     John McNamara
  Students:       Nathan Gerlach and Stephen Kluck

  Rosemount High School, Rosemount
  Instructor:     Ian Rabanus
  Students:       Ronald Kelly and Ben Seeger

The winning team will advance to the national competition, held June 25-27, 2005, where teams from all 50 states will compete in another written exam and hands-on competition to take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Teams that win at both the state and national level will receive scholarship funds for two Ford automotive training programs: ASSET (Automotive Student Service Educational Training) or FACT (Ford Accelerated Credential Training). Scholarships won in the national competition come from some of the nation's top technical schools. In all, more than $5 million in scholarships and prizes will be awarded to participants in the nationwide program.

In conjunction with the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition, the Ultimate Master Technician Challenge also will be held on April 27, with a hands-on competition including the following Ford Master Technicians:

  -- Larry Adrian - Lunde Lincoln-Mercury, Fargo
  -- Gerald Koepp - Boyer Ford Trucks, Inc., Minneapolis
  -- Duane Lueck - Norris-Vernier Motor Sales, Inc., Tomah, Wisc.
  -- Patrick Schumacher - Chuck Spaeth Ford, Inc., New Ulm
  -- Steve Wentz - Lunde Lincoln-Mercury, Fargo

The Ultimate Master Technician winner also will travel to Washington, D.C., on June 25-27 to compete for scholarship dollars in the national contest.

"These competitions encourage teens to explore the automotive technology field," said Gary Klopp Director, Automotive Services, AAA Minnesota/Iowa. "Skilled technicians are needed, with not only a mechanical aptitude, but also strong computer and electronic aptitude."

In addition, there is a growing need to infuse young talent into a field in which numbers have been declining recently. Industry figures report a shortage of approximately 32,000 service technicians nationally. As of the latest U.S. Department of Labor report, the need for new technicians will increases as much as 20 percent by the year 2012.

Organizers also point to the financial benefit of this career, where starting salaries for entry-level technicians are approximately $30,000 - $35,000 per year. Master technicians in some areas can earn between $70,000 - $100,000 annually.

Competitions in each state and at the national level are organized with the support of AAA's Approved Auto Repair program, Ford personnel and local educators.

AAA offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services to more than 45 million members in the United States and Canada. AAA Minnesota/Iowa is part of The Auto Club Group, with 4.1 million members in eight Midwest states.