, 2015 - During the recent 2015 SkillsUSA Championships, Lakewood, Colorado resident Luke Sabey of Warren Occupational Tech Center took the collision repair tech title and Benjamin Falconer a Greeley, Colorado, resident attending Aims Community College's Windsor, Colorado, high school program won automotive refinishing. Post-secondary champions were Knoxville, Tennessee's Jedidiah Long of the Tennessee College of Applied Tech (repair) and Saint Louis, Missouri resident Amanda Baker of Ranken Tech College (refinishing).
All four Gold medalists were awarded with certificates for $1,250 tool scholarships from the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and the March Taylor Memorial Fund (MTMF).
"The scholarships will be made available in the form of a credit with the local supplier for either 3M or Snap-on," shared SCRS Chairman Andy Dingman. "We worked in coordination with these suppliers because they presented the opportunity for the students to select very relevant and necessary pieces of equipment to kick off their careers, and because both of these corporations are large supporters of SkillsUSA. We wanted to make sure the scholarship funds were spent with companies that helped make the competition possible."
While tool scholarships were limited to Gold place medalists, both SCRS and MTMF would like to recognize other finalists who medaled in the championship:
High school collision repair: Cory Petit, Washburn Tech, Topeka, Kansas, Silver; and Quinn Strohl, Bethlehem AVTS, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Bronze.
College collision repair: Josh Williamson, Ranken Tech College, Saint Louis, Missouri; and Riley Schuh, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Bronze.
High school automotive refinishing: Chase Bryant, Dennis Technical Education Center, Boise, Idaho, Silver; and Aryon Schube, Vanguard-Sentinel CTC-Sentinel Campus, Tiffin, Ohio, Bronze.
College automotive refinishing: Jim Fuller, Lanier Technical College-Oakwood, Oakwood, Georgia, Silver; and Joseph Melendez Jr., Iowa Central Community College, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Bronze.
The collision repair competition included work in metal straightening, plastic repair, welding and structural analysis and was derived from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the National Institute for Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) task lists.
The automotive refinishing competition was also derived from NATEF and ASE task lists. The competitors had to demonstrate paint mixing and matching, painting and spray gun use, surface preparation, figuring out application problems and finish defects and prepare an estimate.
"As someone who has been in the industry for many years, it's heartwarming to see this level of skill and aptitude in our trade," added MTMF Trustee Jeff Hendler. "These are the types of individuals that carry on the legacy of people like March Taylor, technicians that are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. We are just glad to take part in supporting them along the way."
