MONTANA'S  BEST AUTO STUDENTS COMPETE 

FOR FORD/AAA STUDENT AUTO SKILLS COMPETITION

Helena, MT 5/03/11 – Twenty high school automotive students from across the state will tune up cars in hopes of tuning out the competition on May 4 and 5 in the State Finals of the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition. The students will be fighting for scholarships in the automotive industry and for the chance to advance to the National Finals, which take place at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.

The competition, which is geared toward students looking to jumpstart their careers in the automotive industry, is especially relevant for today’s struggling economy, in which car owners are putting more money into car repair and maintenance as a way of avoiding the big-ticket purchase of a new car.

On May 4, twenty juniors and seniors representing nine high schools across Montana will face off in the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills State Finals. Each two-student team will race the clock to correctly identify and fix intentionally installed “bugs” on identical 2012 Ford vehicles. After properly diagnosing and repairing their vehicle, the teammates must drive their assigned vehicle across the finish line, where the vehicle will be inspected for accuracy and workmanship. The event will take place at University of Montana College of Technology – Helena main and airport campuses from 9:00am Wednesday morning, finishing at approximately 1:00pm on Thursday afternoon. The 90-minute competition will be held on Friday morning from 10:00 to 11:30am.

The top-ranked automotive technology students selected to compete in this year’s Montana State Finals include:

Haley Meeks and Kylin Brimhall              Paris Gibson H.S. Learning Center, Great Falls

Nik Sinhold and Mike Lang                      Billings Career Center, Billings

Keith Kemmis and David Larson              Billings Career Center, Billings

Ryan Vanluchene and Christo Spartas     Bozeman High School, Bozeman

Bryce Anderson and Chris Goodau          C. M. Russell High School, Great Falls

Kyler Kindle and Justin Hudyma              Capital High School Helena

Josh Knight and Joe Campbell                 Butte High School, Butte

Jarid Russel and Colter Bickford             Havre High School, Havre

Ryan Bybee and Baron Moon                 Flathead High School, Kalispell                   

Two students will also compete on behalf of Great Falls High in Great Falls.           

The teams were selected based on their high scores in an online qualifying exam that tested each team’s automotive knowledge. The winning team members not only receive scholarships and other valuable prizes, but also will represent Montana at the National Finals at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. On June 12 – 14, the team with the highest combined scored 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 nearly $12 million in scholarships this year to students at both the state and national level.

“In today’s economy, drivers are looking to extend the lives of their cars through maintenance and repair and have a strong need for skilled automotive technicians,” said Joe Beatty, AAA Manager of Automotive Services. “The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition helps prepare future professionals for promising careers in the automotive repair industry.”

Both statewide and national competitions are organized with the Support of AAA MountainWest, Helena Motors, Office of Public Instruction, University of Montana College of Technology – Helena, J & D Truck Repair and Towing, Ford Motor Company and Hertz Corporation.

AAA MountainWest is dedicated to providing its over 178,000 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. AAA can be visited on the Internet at www.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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