SkillsUSA Ohio Championships - Member dealers and OADA Give Back

The SkillsUSA Ohio State Championships recently took place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center on March 18. The SkillsUSA Ohio State Championships is one of the nation’s largest workforce development events for middle-school, high school and college/postsecondary students enrolled in public career and technical education programs. SkillsUSA Ohio hosts the annual event at an estimated cost of more than $11 million. It is considered the largest skill competition in Ohio and one of the largest days of industry volunteerism in Ohio. SkillsUSA represents 130 different occupational areas and adds contests to the SkillsUSA Championships each year to meet the demands of new or expanding careers. The skilled and technical sciences contests included Automotive Service Technology, Collision Repair Technology, Diesel Equipment Technology, Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair, and Motorcycle Service Technology.

For the Automotive Service Technology Competition, students had to compete in five different regional competitions around the state, with four students per region advancing to the state competition. Students moved through 10 stations – most of them hands on – to advance through the competition. Sponsors and judges included Sinclair Community College, Columbus State Community College, University of Northwest Ohio, Snap-On Tools, Subaru of America, Toyota, Dave Gill Chevrolet, and the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association (OADA).

OADA was proud to host and judge the “soft skills” component of the Automotive Service Technology Competition. This involved a customer service interaction, where the student acted as a service advisor, and went over a repair order with the judge, who was acting as the “customer.” This provided the students with real world experience communicating with customers about a mechanical concern, the cause of the concern, and the appropriate repair. Students were judged on professionalism, addressing the probable cause of the concern, the correction for the problem, and an explanation of the charges. The students also had to complete a job application as part of this station. Judges were Tara-Lynne White from Dave Gill Chevrolet, and DeAnna Zahniser from OADA. Prizes from both were also awarded to all contestants.

Other dealership involvement included Glockner Family Dealerships, where Matt Knore represented Glockner as a judge in the Collision & Refinishing portion of the competition for the 7^th year. The Great Lakes Auto Group also lent a hand by providing vehicles to be used in the Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair competition.

Winning the Automotive Service Technology Competition was senior Isaac Heitman from Vantage Career Center in Van Wert. Isaac has secured a spot at the national SkillsUSA competition to be held in Atlanta this summer. For the past few years, Isaac has been honing his skills while working at Greve Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Van Wert. Beyond earning state champion status, Isaac’s win has also earned him three scholarships totaling $27,500, high-quality tools, including Icon and Snap-on tools worth approximately $1,200, and apparel along with other prizes. These rewards not only recognize his exceptional performance but also serve as a steppingstone toward a bright future in the field.

Finishing second was Riker Durell from Vanguard-Sentinel CTC – Vanguard Campus Fremont. Noah Parrish from C-Tec High School in Newark took third place.

Want to get involved? Please reach out to Chuck Taylor at Sinclair Community College at 937-512-2314 or by emailing Charles.taylor@sinclair.edu. You can also reach out to DeAnna Zahniser at OADA, dzahniser@oada.com, or 614-923-2231.