Technician Competition

Along with his trophy, Tate was awarded a NEXIQ Technologies' Snap-On two-piece Classic 78 model tool chest valued at approximately $8,000; a Midtronics Celltron MAX battery analysis system (CMA7000) valued at $1,100; a trip for two to the Daytona 500; Noregon Systems' JPRO Fleet Diagnostic Kit; a custom-made championship leather jacket; $600 in gift cards; and other items.

Technicians Rick Grivel and Christopher Barnett both with Ryder System, Alpharetta, GA, took the second- and third-place honors, respectively. Each received the Midtronics Celltron MAX battery analysis system.
Grivel was the winner of the Fifth Wheel skills station; Barnett, Steering & Suspension.

Michael Bogard, Neenah, WI, also with Ryder System, captured fourth place. He was last year's third-place winner and earned the top score on the written portion of the competition the previous three years.

The other top 10 finishers: fifth place - Michael John Vallery, Oak Harbor Freight Lines, Portland, OR; sixth - Grant Allen Cherry, Wal-Mart Transportation, Pilot Rock, OR; seventh - Richard Zacholl, Swift Transportation, N. Syracuse, NY; eighth - Jimmie Slusher, Ryder System, Elizabethton, TN; ninth - Ray Wordekemp, Omaha Truck Center, Omaha, NE; and tenth - Thomas Pianalto, Diamond International Trucks, Lowell, AR.

The other TMC SuperTech2009 skills stations winners, each of whom was awarded various prizes, were: Fastener & Fastener Repair - William O'Brien, Con-Way Freight, Bells, TN; Starting & Charging - Norbert Estrada, TravelCenters of America, Gary, IN; Drivetrain - Thomas Pianalto, Diamond International Trucks, Lowell, AR; PMI - John Ragland, FedEx Express, Tonganoxie, KS; Electrical - Matthew McRae, Swift Transportation., Salt Lake City, UT.

Trailer Alignment - Dean Sehm, Ryder System, Litchfield Park, AZ; Service Information - Tyson Sontag, McKee Foods Transportation, Gentry, AR; Repair Order - Richard Zacholl, Swift Transportation, N. Syracuse, NY; Engine (Hardware) - Mitch Thielking, Batesville Logistics, Batesville, IN; Engine (Electronics) - Ray Wordekemp, Omaha Truck Center, Omaha, NE.

Nine winners from 2009 state technician skills competitions participated in TMCSuperTech2009. They were: Arkansas - Tyson W. Sontag, McKee Foods Transportation, Gentry; Kentucky - Edwin D. Lawrence III, M&M Cartage, Louisville; Nebraska - Tim Zieman, Omaha Truck Center, Lincoln; New York - Tate from Mohawk Truck, West Seneca; Oklahoma - Max L. E. Dennis, City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City.

Oregon - Michael John Vallery, Oak Harbor Freight Lines, Portland; South Carolina - Kevin Schwarzbauer, Carolina International Trucks, Columbia; Tennessee - Corey A. Sellers, Ozark Motor Lines, Lebanon; and Texas - Mark Deen, Cummins Southern Plains, Arlington.

I am looking forward to next year's TMC SuperTech. You might want to plan on attending as well. I can assure you, it will be time well spent.

TMC's 2010 Fall Meeting & National Technician Skills Competition is planned for next September 20 to 23, once again at the Raleigh Convention Center.