NEW ORLEANS — The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has singled out 59 individuals as automotive technicians of the year, including eight who work at retail tire dealerships.
"These awards represent outstanding achievement in many areas of ASE certification," ASE President and CEO Dave Johnson said.
"The individuals being honored have demonstrated their knowledge by placing among the highest scoring automotive professionals holding ASE credentials.
"This, along with their exemplary performance each and every day, makes them exceptional examples of our industry to the public we serve. Together with our industry partners and award sponsors, we salute the best of the best."
The awards were presented at a ceremony held in New Orleans in mid-November.
Tire dealership employees who were named ASE Master Automobile Technicians are:
- Scott Just, SpeeDee Oil Change & Auto Service, Taunton, Mass.
- Lloyd Kozak, Bridgestone Retail Operations, Firestone Complete Auto Care, Carpentersville, Ill.;
- Ravindra Prasad, Pep Boys, Modesto, Calif.;
- Peter Santovi, Midas International, Shakopee Midas, Shakopee, Minn.;
- Brian Simpson, Big O Tires, Wenco Industries-Big O Tires, Colorado Springs, Colo.;
- Logan Tate, NAPA, Cloverdale Automotive & Tires, Cloverdale, Calif.; and
- Robert Ziollowski, Discount Tire/ Dunn Tire, Buffalo, N.Y.;
In addition Trevor Torgerson, of Chapel Hill Tire, Chapel Hill, N.C., was named TechNet/ASE Service Consultant of the Year.
Other winners include:
- Acura/ASE Master Automotive Technician of the Year — Orlando Gonzalez, Doral Acura, Miami
- Advance Auto Parts/ASE Parts Specialist of the Year — Robert Pyne, Advance Auto Parts, Attleboro, Mass.
- Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper/ASE Automobile Technician of the Year — Avery Breneman, Avery's Auto Repair, Blackfoot, Idaho
- Army/Ford/ASE Master Military Technician of the Year — SFC Braxton Booker, U.S. Army, Vilseck, Germany; SFC Elvin Vazquez, U.S. Army, Fort Gregg-Adams, Va.
- Axalta Coating Systems/ASE Collision Repair & Refinish Technician of the Year — Randy Norris, Ultimate Paint Shop, Lake Bluff, Ill.
- BMW/ASE Master Automobile Technicians of the Year — Scott Bedo, Fields BMW South Orlando, Orlando, Fla.; Aaron Happ, BMW of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.; Alex Himes, Sandia BMW, Albuquerque, N.M.; and Leif Johnson, Motorwerks Mini, Golden Valley, Minn.
- BMW/ASE Master Collision Repair & Refinish Technician of the Year — Stark Buckner, Classic Collision, Marietta, Ga.
- BodyShop Business/ASE Master Collision Repair & Refinish Technician of the Year — Scott Evans, Premier Body Shop, Santa Clara, Calif.
- Byrl Shoemaker/ASE Education Foundation Instructor of the Year — Brian Manley, Cherry Creek Innovation Campus, Centennial, Colo.
- Car-O-Liner/ASE Master Collision Repair & Refinish Technician of the Year — Sergia Barba, BMW of Riverside, Riverside, Calif.
- CCAR/Electude/ASE Instructor of the Year — John Stratton, Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES, New Hartford, N.Y.
- Cengage/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Jerry Newton, Honest Engine Auto Repair, Henniker, N.H.
- Cloyes/ASE Automobile Technician of the Year — Michael Bush, Cosumnes River College, Sacramento, Calif.
- Delco Remy/ASE M/H Truck Electrical/Electronic Systems Technician of the Year — Joseph Urbibe, School Board of Broward County, Oakland Park, Fla.
- Enterprise Mobility/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Derrick Kemp, Enterprise Mobility, Fort Myers, Fla.
- First Student/ASE Master School Bus Technician of the Year — Earl Heinrichs, First Student, St. Louis
- Ford/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Harold Crenner, Shults Ford Lincoln, Wexford, Pa.
- Freightliner/ASE Master M/H Truck Technician of the Year — David Wager, Truck Country, Shullsburg, Wis.
- Garage Gurus/ASE Automobile Master + A9 + L1-L4 Technician of the Year — Brian Atwood, Four Guys Auto, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Gates Tools for Schools/ASE Instructor of the Year — Mark Armbrecht, Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny, Iowa
- Gates/ASE Master Automobile + L1 Technician of the Year — David Bean, Butler Automotive, Rockville, Md.
- Genearal Motors/ASE Service Consultant of the Year — Aaron Hopf, Bob Luegers Motors, Jasper, Ind.
- General Motors/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Thomas DeZorzi, Lindsay Buick GMC, Warrenton, Va.
- GM/ASE Parts Consultant of the Year — Anthony Dilday, Rick Hendrick Chevrolet Naples, Naples, Fla.
- Honda/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Joseph Conklin, Zeigler Honda, Kalamazoo, Mich.
- I-CAR Platinum/ASE Master Collision Repair & Refinish Technician of the Year — Brad Krause, Faulkner Collision Center, Lancaster, Pa.
- Infiniti/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Jeffrey Walker, Circle Infiniti, West Long Branch, N.J.
- International/ASE Master M/H Truck Technician of the Year — Joseph Behrend, Rush Truck Centers, Idaho Falls, Idaho
- International/ASE Master School Bus Technician of the Year — Nickolas Moreno, RWC Group, Phoenix
- KIA/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Nick Roberge, Charlies KIA, Augusta, Maine
- Lexus/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — David Benkert, Performance Lexus, Cincinnati
- Lexus/ASE Master Collision Repair & Refinish Technician of the Year — Calvin Beasley, Tom Wood Collision, Indianapolis
- Mitchell1/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Max Caldwell, Pratt Community College AVS, Pratt, Kan.
- Motor Age Training/ASE Master Automobile + L1 Technician of the Year — Raymond Hagemann, Nissan North America, Smyrna, Tenn.
- NEXIQ/Snap-on/ASE Master M/H Truck Technician of the Year — William (Zach) Grigsby, Rush Truck Center, Tolleson, Ariz.
- Nissan/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Jeremy Cotten, Colonial Nissan, Barboursville, Va.
- Parts Plus Car Care Center/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Nathan Boyer, Westside Garage, Grand Rapids, Mich.
- Pronto/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Jacob Greenwood, Kellys Automotive, Medford, Ore.
- Snap-on/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Christopher Hasbrouck, Quality Automotive Center, Cape Coral, Fla.
- Stellantis/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Waiokeola Ching, Crown Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Dublin, Ohio
- Subaru University/ASE Technician of the Future — Naomi Kraemer, Subaru of Olathe, Olathe, Kan.
- Subaru/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Michael Tarhovicky, Williams Subaru, Sayre, Pa.
- TechNet/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Curtis Morgan Jr., Curtis Morgan's Garage Inc., Lamont, Fla.
- Toyota/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Steve Newton, Anderson Weber, Dubuque, Iowa
- Toyota/ASE Master Collision Repair and Refinish Technician of the Year — Ruben Tovar, Freeman Collision, Santa Rosa, Calif.
- U.S. Air Force/GM/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — SrA Bryan Fischer USAF Barksdale Air Force Base, Bossier Parish, La.
- ZF Aftermarket/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year — Chad Zehr, Cantech Automotive, North Syracuse, N.Y.
