Paris Texas Team Wins State Finals of Student Auto Skills Contest
HOUSTON--April 21, 2001--A team of two students from North Lamar High School took top honors today in the Texas state finals of the 2001 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Contest in Houston. The students, Jared B. Reaves and Jimmy L. Mills now go on to represent Texas at the June 18th national finals in Washington, D. C. The team's instructor is Bo Bolton.Fifteen high school teams from around the state competed in today's event at Space Center Houston. The teams of two high school seniors attempted to quickly and accurately diagnose and repair Ford vehicles that were intentionally disabled. The state championship was determined by the combination of a written qualifying exam and their performance in today's hands-on competition.
"This competition showcases the talents of many fine students and educators across the state, as demonstrated by Bo Bolton, the instructor of the winning team, who will be making his fourth appearance at the national competition," said Patrick O'Reilly, manager of the Approved Auto Repair Program.
The 2001 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills contest encourages students to pursue rewarding career opportunities in automotive service. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there is a need for 60,000 additional automotive technicians, annually. Properly trained technicians can earn $35,000-$75,000 a year.
State champions earn a spot in the Ford Motor Company's ASSET (Automotive Student Service Educational Training) program, including scholarships to associate degree automotive technology programs.
More than $116,000 worth of scholarships were awarded at today's Auto Skills competition.
This is how the high school teams lined up: 1st Place N. Lamar High School (Paris, TX) Students: Jared B. Reaves & Jimmy L. Mills Instructor: Bo Bolton 2nd Place Seminole High School (Seminole, TX) Students: Chris Dosher & John W. Redecop Instructor: Bob Summer 3rd Place Shannon Learning Center (Ft. Worth, TX) Students: George N. Edmonson & Cody Pelt Instructor: Olin R. Harrington 4th Place Klein High School (Klein, TX) Students: Kevin J. Flores & Christopher P. Hunt Instructor: Andy Mize 5th Place Lancaster High School (Lancaster, TX) Students: John Jestis & Tim W. Schulze Instructor: Raymond A. Fagan 6th Place Pearland High School (Pearland, TX) Students: James C. Brown & Jarrod C. Portelance Instructor: John M. Akin 7th Place Cy Fair High School (Houston, TX) Students: Mike A. Zdunkawicz & Paul D. Kessler Instructor: Donald P. Kessler 8th Place Lewisville High School (Lewisville, TX) Students: Jason T. Franklin & Randall Durham Instructor: Anthony M. Marino 9th Place Center for Career & Tech (El Paso, TX) Students: Jose Carmona & Jesus Morales Instructor: Manny Contreras 10th Place Hereford High School (Hereford, TX) Students: Kevin W. Winget & Jason K. Jesko Instructor: Monty Smith 11th Place Elgin High School (Elgin, TX) Students: Gene A. McWhorter & Keith W. Kubosh Instructor: Chuck Fromme 12th Place John Marshall High School (San Antonio, TX) Students: Walter J. Geraghty & David S. Woodring Instructor: Thomas Berger 13th Place Bryan High School (Bryan, TX) Students: Vincent P. Schielack & John E. Blackmon Instructor: Nathan McCann 14th Place Langham Creek (Houston, TX) Students: Clifton W. Kuhn & Travis D. Ragsdale Instructor: Sanford W. Lee 15th Place Bownfiled High School (Brownfield, TX) Students: Jerry L. Wilson & Wallace D. Devine Instructor: Scott Randall Burkett
A second contest was taking place at the same time of the Auto Skills contest - Ford's Ultimate Master Techinician Challenge. It was a showdown of Ford's best techs, battling to repair vehicles that were deliberately disabled.
This is how they lined up: Name Prize ---- ----- 1st James Gahan $5,000 Casa Ford, Inc. (El Paso) Cruise 2nd Joseph Boyle $4,000 North Park Lincoln Mercury (Bergheim) 3rd Daniel Lee Adams $3,000 Green Country Ford, Inc. (Vinita, OK) 4th Darren Winchell $2,000 North Park Lincoln Mercury (San Antonio) 5th Kenneth Echols $1500 Eagle Pass Ford Mercury, Inc. (San Antonio) The first place winner goes on to compete in the national finals in Washington, D.C.
AAA Texas has been serving Texans since 1902. Today, AAA Texas offers its members a full-service travel agency, auto-related and financial services, as well as public safety programs and legislative advocacy.