East Norriton, Pa., March 23, 2010 - The Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation is pleased to announce the results of its 17th Annual Greater Philadelphia Automotive Technology Competition. High School Seniors Cody Barlet and Brandon Kramer of Berks Career and Technology Center (West) took home first place honors at this year’s event. The winning duo, which collected more than $275,000 in scholarships and prizes, was led by Instructor Lewis Davis and sponsored by Penske Buick GMC Truck.
Created in 1994, the purpose of the competition is to build awareness for the important role of auto technicians in today’s workforce and to spotlight their specialized skills and professionalism. The first part of the competition involved a 160-question written exam. Of the approximately 100 students who took the exam, the twenty-four individuals who received the highest marks advanced to the hands-on portion of the competition, which took place on Friday, March 5th, at the Warminster Campus of the Automotive Training Center.
At the hands-on event, participating students tested their knowledge at eight different workstations and performed a Pre-Delivery inspection on a previously bugged new vehicle. In total, the hands-on competition was 4.5 hours long. Afterwards, all of the students were treated to an astounding amount of donated prizes during the competition’s awards ceremony where the following honors were also announced. Kyle Mortillite and George Baals of Gloucester County Institute of Technology came in second place and received approximately $168,000 in scholarships and prizes, collectively. Instructor Glenn Hubert led the team with the support of Pellegrino Chevrolet as the sponsoring dealership.
Third place went to Paul Burg and John Hild of Bucks County Technical High School. Sponsored by McCafferty Ford and under the guidance of Instructor Bryon Cesari, Burg and Hild were awarded approximately $100,000 in scholarships and prizes. Other event finalists included:
Berks Career & Technology Center (East)
Benjamin Solt
Dennis Bausher
Instructor: Ronald Leinbach
Sponsors: Savage Kia & Gateway Kia
Burlington County Institute of Technology
Brandon Martin
Vania Green
Instructor: Tom Molnar
Sponsor: Burlington Volkswagen
Chester County Technical College High School
Javier Cortes
Jeremy Brenneman
Instructor: John Dowling
Sponsor: David Dodge Chrysler Jeep
Eastern Center for Arts & Technology
Josiah Sahadat
Taras Knysh
Instructor: John McDonald
Sponsor: Bryner Chevrolet
Mercer County Technical School – Sypek
William Walker
Jason Koster
Instructor: Michael Cramer
Sponsor: Haldeman Ford
Middle Bucks Institute of Technology
Vincent Adams
Isaac Stitzinger
Instructor: Paul Ciarlone
Sponsor: Keystone Motors
North Montco Technical Career Center
Tim Allebach
Mike Hauck
Instructors: Bill Kirkpatrick & Bob Lacivita
Sponsor: North Penn Volkswagen
Swenson Arts & Technology High School
John Murphy
John Moschovis
Instructor: Robert Nelson
Sponsor: Faulkner Mazda
West Philadelphia Auto Academy
Christopher Millsip
Tashia Smith
Instructor: Ron Preiss
Sponsor: Piazza Honda of Philadelphia
The total array of prizes and scholarship money distributed to the participating students totaled nearly $900,000. Educational sponsors included Automotive Training Center, Camden County College, Lincoln Technical Institute, Ohio Technical College and Universal Technical Institute. Corporate supporters include Chrysler Group LLC, Community College of Philadelphia, Conicelli Autoplex, Hunter Engineering Company, Mitchell 1, Snap-On, Toyota Motor Sales and Volvo Cars of North America.