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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 Competition

    BELLEVUE, 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.