AAA to Hold Skills Competition for Student Auto Technicians

BURNSVILLE, Minn.--May 1, 2006--AAA and Ford once again will determine the best young auto technicians in the country. Iowa students will compete in the hands-on portion of the statewide Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition on Tuesday, May 9, 2006, at the Des Moines Area Community College (2006 South Ankeny Boulevard, Building 13, Ankeny).

Contest preparation will begin at 8 a.m., competition held 9:30 - 11 a.m., and award ceremony at 12 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 2006 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:

         Bedford Community High School, Bedford
         Instructor:  Gordon Kennedy
         Students:    Randall Bix and Brad Derry

         Central High School, Davenport
         Instructor:  Randy Geerts
         Students:    Jay Grant and Jerad Mercer

         Des Moines Central Campus, Des Moines
         Instructor:  James Nelson
         Students:    Timothy Knecht and Daniel Mendoza

         Iowa City High School, Iowa City
         Instructor:  David Raaf
         Students:    Nick Colvin and Travis Klein

         Le Mars Community High School, Le Mars
         Instructor:  Paul Fischer
         Students:    Derek Johnson and Nickolas Minar

         Perry High School, Perry
         Instructor:  Dale Schumacher
         Students:    Bart Harris and Calvin Smith

         Southwestern Community College, Creston
         Instructor:  Jeffrey Sorensen
         Students:    Jarad James and Leo Obrien

         West Delaware High School, Manchester
         Instructor:  Jason Guyer
         Students:    Kirk Burkle and Brent Sands

         Western Iowa Tech Community College, Sioux City
         Instructor:  Shane Sampson
         Students:    Jack Mrla and Sam Rumohr

         Western Iowa Tech Community College, Cherokee
         Instructor:  Nathan Woodford
         Students:    Mark Schleef and Andy Schmidt

The winning team will advance to the national competition, held June 25-27, 2006, where teams from all 50 states will compete in another written exam and hands-on competition to take place on the Ford Headquarters in Dearborn, MI. Teams that win at the state or 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 also come from some of the nation's top technical schools. In all, more than 6.5 million dollars in scholarships and prizes will be awarded to participants in the nationwide program. There are 1,056 schools registered to compete nationwide.

"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.