INDIANA
Jamestown residents Lowell Wilburn and son Justin Wilburn won the NAPA Trick Truck award at the Good Guys Hot Rod Nationals in Indianapolis in June with their 1953 Ford truck. The custom-built, four-door vehicle is equipped with a Power Stroke diesel engine, can tote an 18-foot ramp bed, and is finished off with built-in cameras and leather seats from the Harley-Davidson truck edition. In addition to receiving the award, the Wilburns also received a $100 NAPA gift certificate for tools from the on-site NAPA Tool & Equipment tent, as well as a NAPA hat, T-shirt and grease towel.
KENTUCKY
West Kentucky Community & Technical College in Paducah is among five schools nationwide to receive the I-CAR Education Foundation curriculum grant. The grant is funded by industry donations made to the Collision Repair Education Campaign and is part of more than $150,000 in grants and scholarships to be given out in 2009 by the I-CAR Education Foundation.
MISSOURI
Auto Tire and Parts in Cape Girardeau recently celebrated its 100th anniversary at its newly remodeled headquarters with more than 700 of its customers. Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson presented a proclamation recognizing Auto Tire and Parts for its longevity and impact on all the communities it serves, declaring May 12 as Auto Tire and Parts Day in recognition of their service to the region. “It’s nice to see a locally owned business succeed and grow like Auto Tire and Parts has,” said Matt Seyer, a local shop owner and second-generation customer. “As a business owner, I appreciate their service and their knowledgeable employees.” The company has 40 locations in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky.
The Modern Tire Dealer reported that Monro Muffler Brake Inc. is nearing completion of a $10 million deal with American Tire Distributors (ATD) to acquire its 26 Autotire Car Care Centers in the St. Louis area. Monro executives decided to retain the well-known auto tire name, rather than adopting the Mr. Tire moniker. ATD acquired the stores from Am-Pac Tire Distributions last December.
The I-CAR Education Foundation recently awarded curriculum grants to five schools, maintenance grants for 12 schools to update their current curriculum and training material library, and training grants that will assist 12 instructors to attend the I-CAR Instructor Qualification Workshop (IQW). All of the grants are funded by industry donations made to the Collision Repair Education Campaign and are part of more than $150,000 in grants and scholarships to be given out in 2009 by the I-CAR Education Foundation. Rolla Technical Institute of Rolla was among the schools receiving a curriculum grant. They will receive part of a package of the I-CAR Live Curriculum covering tasks required by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF). In addition, each school will become a member of the I-CAR Industry Training Alliance in the next year. Once they become members, the schools can award their students I-CAR credits (points) upon graduation. Nichols Career Center in Jefferson City also received a curriculum maintenance grant. Dana Klouzak and Phil Wideman of Linn State Technical College in Linn received Instructor Qualification Workshop (IQW) grants. The IQW will help the instructors learn how to teach using the I-CAR Live Curriculum. In addition, completion of the IQW is one of the steps needed to induct the instructor’s school into the Industry Training Alliance.
The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) is slated to conduct an iSHOP standard training class July 20-21 at Hunter Engineering’s training facility in Bridgeton. Garage Operator, AllData, and Hunter will give presentations on their experiences with iSHOP compliance. System architects and IT executives are encouraged to attend. For more information, or to register, visit www.ishopstandards.org.
