Montana’s Best Auto Tech Students to Compete ‘Under the Hood’ for State Title and Millions in Scholarship Dollars

16 high school students vie for Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills state title and chance to represent Montana at National Finals in race to diagnosis and repair vehicles

Helena, Mont. 5/5/2010 – AAA and Ford are handing high school students the keys to jumpstart their careers in the automotive repair industry as they team up to reward students for their automotive knowledge and technical skills. The competition is especially relevant during a time when the job market is extremely challenging for young adults. The knowledge and skills each of the students will be taught throughout this program, will help prepare them for a career in the automotive service and repair industry.

On May 6, 16 juniors and seniors representing eight high schools across Montana will meet at the Helena College of Technology Airport Campus in Helena to face off in the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills state finals from 10am to 11:30am. Each two-student team will race the clock from to correctly identify and fix intentionally installed “bugs” on identical 2010 Ford vehicles. 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 top automotive technology students selected to compete in this year’s Montana state finals include:

        Billings Career Center

        Students: Eric Woller, Trevor Pipkin                   Instructor: Ken Adams

        Students: Ryan Goodburn, John Mueller              Instructor: Joshua George

        Bozeman High School

        Students: Mike Neely, Taylor Wild                     Instructor: Jess Stovall

        Butte High School

        Students: Dustin Wilmouth, Shaquille Lecoure     Instructor: Dennis Shea

        Flathead High School

        Students: Dustin Freebury, Wyatt Potts               Instructor: Rob Hunter

        Great Falls High School

        Students: Cody Hagestad, Aaron Frank              Instructor: Brad Warren

        Havre High School

        Students: Chance Koke, Michael Spinler             Instructor: Merle Hoerner

        Paris Gibson High School

        Students: Ashley Bentzel, Megan McDunn          Instructor: Joe Wilkins

The winning team members not only receive scholarships and other valuable prizes, but also will represent their state at the National Finals on the front lawn of Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich. on June 13-15, 2010. 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 more than 10 million in scholarships this year to students at both the state and national level.

“With the job market becoming even more competitive for young adults, we are confident the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills program will help prepare students in the next phase of their professional life,” said Joe Beatty, AAA Automotive Service Manager. “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.”

About Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills

The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills is a nationwide automotive technology competition that offers more than $10 million in scholarships and prizes to high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing careers as automotive service technicians. More than 10,000 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 on the front lawn of Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich. The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition tests students’ automotive knowledge, workmanship and problem-solving abilities with a written test as well as a race against the clock to diagnose and properly repair intentionally “bugged” Ford vehicles. Ford and AAA are dedicated to the competition as part of their commitment to the future of automotive service in America.

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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