Ford & AAA Student Auto Technicians Competition

AAA and Ford once again will determine the best young auto technicians in the country. Iowa students competed in the hands-on portion of the statewide Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition on Tuesday, May 9, 2006, at the Des Moines Area Community College.

Initial qualifying written exams for the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills program were administered to high school automotive program teams in February and March, and the top ten Minnesota teams will participate in this hands-on competition. Ford Motor Company, through Hertz Rental Car, will provide 2006 model year autos that are "bugged" with identical problems that the students must diagnose in the 90-minute contest. The team fixing the most auto problems in the least amount of time will win the state competition.

The Two-Student Teams Include:
Bedford Community High School, Bedford
Instructor: Gordon Kennedy
Students: Randall Bix and Brad Derry
Central High School, Davenport
Instructor: Randy Geerts
Students: Jay Grant and Jerad Mercer
Des Moines Central Campus, Des Moines
Instructor: James Nelson
Students: Timothy Knecht and Daniel Mendoza
Iowa City High School, Iowa City
Instructor: David Raaf
Students: Nick Colvin and Travis Klein
Le Mars Community High School, Le Mars
Instructor: Paul Fischer
Students: Derek Johnson and Nickolas Minar
Perry High School, Perry Instructor: Dale Schumacher
Students: Bart Harris and Calvin Smith
Southwestern Community College, Creston
Instructor: Jeffrey Sorensen
Students: Jarad James and Leo Obrien
West Delaware High School, Manchester
Instructor: Jason Guyer
Students: Kirk Burkle and Brent Sands
Western Iowa Tech Community College, Sioux City
Instructor: Shane Sampson
Students: Jack Mrla and Sam Rumohr
Western Iowa Tech Community College, Cherokee
Instructor: Nathan Woodford
Students: Mark Schleef and Andy Schmidt