High School Automotive Students Compete in Ford/AAA Competition
27 April 2000
Washington State's Top 20 High School Automotive Students Compete in Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills CompetitionBELLEVUE, Wash., April 27 Washington's top 20 high school automotive students will test their automotive and computer diagnostic skills at the 2000 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition on Friday, May 12. The 10 two-student teams have an hour and a half to accurately diagnose and repair intentionally disabled or "bugged" vehicles during the state finals. The competition begins at 10 a.m. in Renton Technical College's Automotive Quad, 3000 N.E. Fourth Street, Renton, and awards are scheduled for noon. A written exam taken in March placed these 20 students as the top ten highest-scoring teams, qualifying them for the state finals. The written exam tested students on both complex mathematical equations as well as highly advanced computer diagnostic skills. With computers controlling more than 85 percent of the functions on new vehicles, automotive technicians need brainpower more than muscle power to meet the needs of today's technically advanced vehicles. The state competition winners will represent Washington at the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills national finals in Washington, D.C., in June. Plus, the winning students get to choose from a list of scholarships totaling over $78,000, and the team's school will receive a Ford Multimedia Training package valued at $2,400 donated by Ford Motor Company to be used in their automotive curriculum. AAA Washington provides more than 632,000 members in western and central Washington a full range of products and benefits, including full-service travel agencies and personal lines insurance agencies in each of its 13 service centers; a range of auto-related services; a variety of financial products, and member discounts on many consumer products and services. Although its travel and insurance agencies are available to the general public, AAA members benefit additionally from many special discounts and exclusive programs. A not-for-profit organization, AAA Washington also assists travelers through its highway and transportation safety and legislative advocacy programs. More information about AAA Washington is available on the company's website at http://www.aaawa.com. 2000 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition Washington State's Qualifying Teams Auburn High School - Fred Donaldson - Instructor Chris Barney Adam Drzayich Bothell High School - Douglas Angell - Instructor Corey Mitchell Chadwick Haugen Clark Co. Skills Center - Kirk VanGelder - Instructor Alfredo Santiago Nick Rasmussen Federal Way High School - James McLain - Instructor James Hilton Chris Bjergum Moses Lake High School - Mark Yosting - Instructor Andrew Pittman Mark Jurgens North Thurston High School - Brian Stretch - Instructor Bryan Shiflett Richard Turner Sequim High School - John Hamel - Instructor Barry Schafer Jake Wiegel Spokane Skills Center - Dennis Koentop - Instructor Mike Parker Sergey Moskovkin Timberline High School - David Livesay - Instructor Anthony Firch Jason Jaeger WF West High School - Ralph Shultz - Instructor Michael McKinnell Brennan John CONTACT: Janet Ray or Jennifer Harbison, both of AAA Washington, 800-562-2582.