the United States Air Force. Four years of that was enough to get
me started on my way to becoming an Automotive Technician.
After five years as a GM Technician, I became a Shop Foreman
at a GM Dealership. When General Motors went on an extended
strike, it became necessary to seek employment as a Ford Tech.
I eventually became a Suspension, Steering & Alignment Specialist
and held this position for many years, until a severe back injury forced
me to hang up my wrenches. After that, I bounced around from Shop
Foreman to Service Advisor positions until finally landing a job as a
Vocational Technical Instructor at a Technical Career College.
I had finally found an enjoyable way to make a living by sharing my
skills with those in need. I achieved a Professional Achievement
Level II in Adult Education, through Ohio State University, and
worked my up to "In-house Training Coordinator."
As all good things must come to an end, it did. After five years of
teaching. I was thrust back onto the real world of hard knocks.
For the next five years I managed the service department for a for a
German car specialty shop. After my arrival, the business outgrew it's
location and had to relocate to larger facilities in the high rent district.
Shortly after the move, I started seeking new challenges.
I was lucky enough to land a position as Senior Automotive Instructor
with the Auto Technician Program at the Norfolk Skills Center. In the
next eleven years, I completely reconstructed the program with new
up-to-date equipment, curriculum, operating system, computer lab for
interactive self-paced training and ASE Certification. The Industry
Planning Council awarded the Program as "The Best ASE Adult
Training Program in the State of Virginia," and I received the "Adult
Educator of the Year" award from the American Vocational Association.
Once again, as fate would have it, the Skills Center was forced to close
it's doors due to funding cuts. Tidewater Tech purchased the programs
and appointed me as Automotive Programs Coordinator. With new
ownership, my directive was to move the Automotive Programs to the
next level to meet changing technology. Tidewater Tech Trades
Due to many requests from employers for on-site Technician training,
I started Training Solutions for Technicians.
that almost killed me, a bout with the "Big C," and reaching the
"Double Nickel," I have to look back and ask myself if I have lived
my life with any degree of success and my final answer is:
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest
critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate
beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social
condition; to know that one life has breathed easier because you
have lived --- this is to have succeeded."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~
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