June 9, 2010
Two Local High Students Compete For National Title In Ford/Aaa Auto Skills
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
AAA and Ford are jumpstarting the automotive repair careers of two local students who are competing nationally for thousands of dollars in scholarships as well as the title of “America’s Next Top Auto Technician.”
Cody Barlow of Tunnelton and Josh Hixon from Bruceton are currently the West Virginia State Ford/AAA Auto Skills champs. The students are seniors at Preston High School in Kingwood. The duo will compete against 49 other two-man teams in the National Finals in Dearborn, Michigan on June 13-16. Instructor James Veltri of Tunnelton will accompany the pair to Michigan.
Barlow and Hixon won the West Virginia state competition in May when they beat nine other two-man teams and the clock to correctly identify and fix intentionally installed “bugs” on identical 2010 Mercury Milan vehicles.
The pair will need to repeat their top-shelf performance at the national competition. After properly diagnosing and repairing their vehicle, the teammates must drive their assigned vehicle across the finish line, where the car will be inspected for accuracy and workmanship. The team with the highest combined scores from the national hands-on competition and written exam will be declared “America’s Next Top Auto Technicians.”
Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills will offer $11.5 million in scholarships this year to students at both the state and national level.
“With so many motorists hanging onto their vehicles longer in this economic climate, it really underscores the need for skilled automotive technicians in this country,” said J.J. Miller, AAA East Central safety advisor and coordinator for the West Virginia state contest. “This competition rewards aspiring automotive technicians and, we hope, inspires them to get the best training possible so that they can embark on promising careers within the automotive repair industry, and possibly with AAA or Ford.”
The competition is especially relevant during a time when the need for skilled automotive technicians may partly result of more motorists fixing their older vehicles instead of buying new ones, in hopes that their used automobiles will survive the recession.
Fulltime automotive technicians have a national mean hourly wage of $16.88 per hour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Statistics in 2008, the most current data available. The highest 10 percent earned more than $28.71 per hour.
More than 10,500 students from across the nation compete for the chance to represent their school and state as part of a two-person team in the National Finals in Dearborn, Michigan.
AAA East Central is a not-for-profit organization with 80 local offices in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and New York, servicing 2.6 million members.
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Two Local High Students Compete For National Title In Ford/Aaa Auto Skills
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
AAA and Ford are jumpstarting the automotive repair careers of two local students who are competing nationally for thousands of dollars in scholarships as well as the title of “America’s Next Top Auto Technician.”
Cody Barlow of Tunnelton and Josh Hixon from Bruceton are currently the West Virginia State Ford/AAA Auto Skills champs. The students are seniors at Preston High School in Kingwood. The duo will compete against 49 other two-man teams in the National Finals in Dearborn, Michigan on June 13-16. Instructor James Veltri of Tunnelton will accompany the pair to Michigan.
Barlow and Hixon won the West Virginia state competition in May when they beat nine other two-man teams and the clock to correctly identify and fix intentionally installed “bugs” on identical 2010 Mercury Milan vehicles.
The pair will need to repeat their top-shelf performance at the national competition. After properly diagnosing and repairing their vehicle, the teammates must drive their assigned vehicle across the finish line, where the car will be inspected for accuracy and workmanship. The team with the highest combined scores from the national hands-on competition and written exam will be declared “America’s Next Top Auto Technicians.”
Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills will offer $11.5 million in scholarships this year to students at both the state and national level.
“With so many motorists hanging onto their vehicles longer in this economic climate, it really underscores the need for skilled automotive technicians in this country,” said J.J. Miller, AAA East Central safety advisor and coordinator for the West Virginia state contest. “This competition rewards aspiring automotive technicians and, we hope, inspires them to get the best training possible so that they can embark on promising careers within the automotive repair industry, and possibly with AAA or Ford.”
The competition is especially relevant during a time when the need for skilled automotive technicians may partly result of more motorists fixing their older vehicles instead of buying new ones, in hopes that their used automobiles will survive the recession.
Fulltime automotive technicians have a national mean hourly wage of $16.88 per hour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Statistics in 2008, the most current data available. The highest 10 percent earned more than $28.71 per hour.
More than 10,500 students from across the nation compete for the chance to represent their school and state as part of a two-person team in the National Finals in Dearborn, Michigan.
AAA East Central is a not-for-profit organization with 80 local offices in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and New York, servicing 2.6 million members.
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