WIX Filters Names Owensboro Community & Technical College 2014 Technical 'School Of The Year'

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WIX Filters Names Owensboro Community & Technical College 2014 Technical ‘School Of The Year’

Counterman Staff
By Counterman Staff
Published:

GASTONIA, N.C. — Owensboro Community & Technical College in Owensboro, Ky., was named the 2014 Technical School of the Year by Tomorrow’s Tech magazine and WIX Filters during a surprise ceremony today for 100 students and instructors of the college’s Automotive Technology program.

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OCTC is the seventh recipient of the annual program to find and name the best technician training school in the country. WIX and O’Reilly Auto Parts are title sponsors of the national award in conjunction with Tomorrow’s Tech, a Babcox Media publication dedicated to automotive students.

“Owensboro Community & Technical College is a great example of an educational institution that is focusing on the future of an entire industry,” said Mike Harvey, brand manager for WIX Filters. “Specializing in automotive technology, diesel and alternate fuels, OCTC is exactly what we envisioned when we started the School of the Year competition – a highly skilled technical program dedicated to training the next generation of technicians.”

As the 2014 School of the Year, Owensboro Community & Technical College’s automotive program received:

• $2,500 donation to the school’s Automotive Technology program from WIX Filters.

• Uniform for every student from Red Kap, a manufacturer of comfortable, durable work-related clothing and outerwear.

• Merchandise from O’Reilly and WIX Filters.

• Travel for the school’s instructor and a guest to Las Vegas to attend Babcox Media’s recognition dinner at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX)

“We pride ourselves on building an automotive program that provides our students with the skills and advanced training necessary for careers in an industry that is constantly evolving,” said Lewis Nall, automotive and diesel program coordinator at OCTC. “Being named School of the Year is an incredible honor and we’re thrilled to share this with our students and our school.”

The School of the Year program is open to all high schools and post-secondary schools that have a subscription to Tomorrow’s Tech magazine. Of the 151entries for this year’s contest, 46 were from different high schools, technical schools and colleges in four geographic regions of the United States. Twenty schools were asked to submit a video highlighting their technical programs. Judges selected four finalists, or one from each region, from the video entries.

“Winning this national honor is quite an achievement,” said Dean Martin, publisher of Tomorrow’s Tech. “We continue to see remarkable improvements in automotive education programs throughout the country and Owensboro is no exception. It is our goal, along with the contest’s sponsors, to recognize the skills and knowledge future automotive service technicians are taking with them into the field.”
This year’s three runners-up are: Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School, Marlborough, Mass.; Iredell-Statesville Schools Automotive Technology Center, Troutman, N.C.; and Lakes Region Community College, Laconia, N.H. Each runner-up will receive a professional automotive tool set and $250 gift card from O’Reilly Auto Parts, as well as work shirts from Red Kap.

Owensboro Community & Technical College joins past School of the Year recipients Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio (2013); Clover Park Technical College, Lakewood, Wash. (2012); Arapahoe Community College, Littleton, Colo. (2011); Caddo Career & Technology Center, Shreveport, La. (2010); Ohio Technical College, Cleveland, Ohio (2009); and Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, Ill. (2008).

About WIX Filters

Since 1939, Wix® Filters has been an innovator in filtration products. WIX designs, manufactures and distributes products for automotive, diesel, agricultural, industrial and specialty filter markets. Its product line includes oil, air, cabin interior, fuel, coolant, transmission and hydraulic filters for automobiles, trucks, off-road equipment and manufacturing applications. For more information, visit www.wixfilters.com. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/wixfilters, follow us on Twitter@WIXFilters and visit our YouTube page at youtube.com/TheWIXFilters

About Affinia Group Inc.

Affinia Group Inc. is an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, including extensive offerings of aftermarket products for automotive and heavy-duty vehicles. With approximately $2.0 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit, www.affiniagroup.com

About Tomorrow’s Tech

Tomorrow’s Tech (TT) delivers technical information for servicing today’s vehicles to more than 40,000 automotive students enrolled in more than 1,100 technical and vocational schools across the country. The magazine assists instructors and educators with a real-world supplement to classroom assignments and reinforces the students’ decisions to seek a career in the automotive industry. Designed exclusively for a core target audience of 17-to-25-year-old automotive students, Tomorrow’s Tech is published eight times throughout the year. For more information, visit www.tomorrowstechnician.com.

About Owensboro Community & Technical College’s Automotive Technology Program

Fully accredited by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation, The Advanced Transportation programs at Owensboro Community & Technical College provide hands-on, certified automotive training for skilled entry-level positions in automobile dealerships, independent garages, motorsports and other auto-related industries. The programs encompass Automotive Technology, Diesel Technology and Collision Repair Technology. OCTC is a recent recipient of a National Science Foundation grant to support the expansion of training for alternative fuels.

OCTC is one of the 16 colleges that make up the Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS) serving over 4,200 students in western Kentucky. For most Kentuckians, higher education begins at KCTCS. Our statewide system of 16 colleges, more than 70 campuses and 97,000 students is a critical component to transforming the state’s economy by providing citizens with the education and training needed for high growth, high wage careers. For more information, visit www.kctcs.edu.

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Customer service should be your number one priority, and it all starts with the greeting.

Eric Garbe
By Eric Garbe
Eric Garbe is a graduate of Columbus State Community College with a degree in Automotive Maintenance Technology. He has extensive independent and dealership field experience as a technician and shop owner and is an ASE Certified Master Technician and former Adjunct Automotive Professor. He has been professionally writing automotive technical articles and documents for many years and in his free time enjoys restoring old cars and creating custom interiors and upholstery.
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This is always an important topic to discuss, because I consider excellent customer service one of the most important tools you can have to earn trust, respect and repeat business from the customers that come through your door. Whether that customer is do-it-yourselfer from across town or the professional repair shop across the street, your business depends on a solid relationship.It’s a subject that I am passionate about, and it’s one that many people are losing touch with. Whether you are communicating to someone in person, on the phone or using some type of social media, good customer service and bad can both exist. You can’t afford the latter, so this is the first in a series of topics which can and should be shared from the front of the shop to the back. No matter which role you hold, you represent the shop and yourself. Customer service should be your number one priority.First on the list is the greeting. From the second a customer walks in the door, they need to know you appreciate them coming in and how important they are to your business. First impressions are everything and here’s the correct way to do it each and every time: look them directly in the eye, smile and say hello!Of course, you can say “Good morning” or “Welcome to Joe’s Autocare,” but it should be a formal greeting and the most important thing is that you have smiled, looked them in the eye and recognized that they have walked through the door.You should always retain a formal greeting until you are on a first-name basis with a customer. Only once you have established that level of relationship is it OK to use the less formal greeting of “Hi,” followed by the person’s name.This greeting does more than just indicate respect and appreciation for someone walking through the door. Most likely there are customers both new and old who are in earshot of your conversation. For newer customers, this continues to build rapport and reinforce their positive view of your shop; they see that you demonstrate respect and treat everyone in the same manner. For repeat customers, even ones that have been coming for years, the greeting is important because the way you treat them is the reason they continue to come.And when a long-time customer comes in and you greet them with “Hi [First Name],” this indicates your appreciation for them and that you’re glad to see them as a person, more than just a customer. New customers that witness this will see that your repeat customers are comfortable enough to be on a first-name basis, another indication of the trust they have in you.

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