Juneau Douglas High School Students Win Alaska State Finals of Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills

Students Will Represent Alaska in the National Finals in Michigan in June

Anchorage, Alaska 5/4/10 – Two Juneau Douglas High School students were crowned the top high school auto technicians in Alaska after winning the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills state finals on May 1.  Sean Kelly and Vince Vogt led by their instructor Stephan Squires will represent Alaska in the National Finals against teams from all 50 states.

After taking an online exam earlier this year, the Juneau Douglas High School students were among 5 pairs whose high scores qualified them to advance to the state finals. At the May 1 state finals, held at University of Alaska Anchorage, the students represented their school as a pair in a race to correctly diagnosis and repair intentionally installed “bugs” on vehicles. Each pair was judged on their speed, accuracy and workmanship.

“Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills energizes young people about the great potential in the automotive technician profession and encourages them to get the best training possible,” said Joe Beatty, AAA Automotive Service Manager, adding, “The industry is constantly changing, and as vehicular technology becomes increasingly complex, we need bright young minds to step up to help keep drivers safe and our vehicles efficient. The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition gives motivated students a chance to obtain the latest technical training and opportunities to pay for it.”

Sean Kelly, Vince Vogt and their instructor will travel Dearborn, Mich., to compete in the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals, June 13-15. During the National Finals, pairs of students representing all 50 states will compete in a written test of their automotive knowledge, and a hands-on competition similar to the May 1 state finals held on the front lawn of Ford World Headquarters.

More than $10 million in scholarships are available at the state and national level from Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills. Many of the students competing in the Alaska finals received a share of the scholarships available. Other teams competing in the Alaska finals included:

        2nd - North Pole High School

        Students: Erik Skilbred, Brandon Hayes              Instructor: Gerald Million

        3rd - King Career Center

        Students: Brian Dewberry, Kyle Roehling            Instructor: Kenneth Nix

        4th - James T Hutchinson High School

        Students: Cody Wetzel, T.J. Valentine                 Instructor: David Hale

        5th - Wasilla High School

        Students: Jason Oliver, Robert Wright                 Instructor: Ed Clawson

Both the national and the state-wide competitions are organized with the support of Ford personnel, local automotive instructors and AAA’s Approved Auto Repair program, a public service AAA performs to identify quality repair facilities throughout the country.

AAA MountainWest is dedicated to providing its over 170,000 members in Alaska, Montana and Wyoming with travel, insurance, financial and auto-related services. A fully tax-paying, not-for-profit corporation, AAA MountainWest, Inc. works for the improvement of motoring and traveling conditions and is a leader for travel, civic and safety issues. In 2008, AAA was voted the #1 socially responsible business brand in America by Landor’s BrandAsset® Valuator. AAA can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com. To have up-to-date news and safety information from AAA delivered right to your desktop, sign-up for the new RSS Feed at http://mtw.aaashare.com/index.php#rss.

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