THE 2ND ANNUAL FORD ACE COMPETITION IS IN THE BOOKS Thank You, NH Ford ACE BY ERIN POWERS EAST MARKET AREA COORDINATOR, FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE DIVISION Earlier this year, high school automotive programs from across the state participated in a preliminary test to determine which of their students would represent their program in the 2nd Annual Ford ACE Competition. On May 2, 2024, the top two scoring students from each school competed as a team in the hands-on final contest at Manchester Community College. THE COMPETITION Identical bugs were set in Bronco sport vehicles by Ford Field Service Engineers. Teams worked to diagnose the bug and repair the vehicle as quickly as possible. The team with the fastest time, highest quality of work and who followed proper safety measures were deemed the winners. Congratulations to the top finishers: • 1st place — Concord Regional Technical Center, Austin Hopler and Riley Mullen, sponsored by Grappone Ford. • 2nd place — Seacoast School of Technology, Aram Hagopian Jr. and Kaleb Greeley, sponsored by McFarland Ford. • 3rd place — Salem CTE, Ryan Tango and Merrick Donahue, sponsored by Salem Ford Pinkerton Academy. Contest prizes, scholarships and vehicles were made possible by NHADA member contributions from: • Best Ford • Bill Dube Ford • Grappone Ford • Ford of Londonderry • McFarland Ford • McFarland Ford of Rochester • Portsmouth Ford • Salem Ford Our local NH Ford dealers wanted an opportunity to recognize the talent we have in each school. Today’s high school students have the mechanical aptitude combined with familiarity with evolving technologies that each store is looking for. The stores are committed to growing their own technicians and encouraging continued training through programs like ASSET to ensure the highest quality work is being performed in their service bays. Only schools that were actively utilizing the Ford Automotive Career Exploration (ACE) program were eligible to take part in the competition. 24
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