MEDIA ADVISORY
Date: October 1, 2003 (03-75)
Contact: Steve Simon, 240-567-7952 (Montgomery College); Sanda Pecina 202-367-1622 (WANADA); Barbara Pomerance 800-697-7574 (WANADA)

Youth & Adult Automotive Training Centers (YAATC)
Put Careers on the Right Track

Washington New Auto Dealers, Ford Motor Company Renew Model Automotive Training Program for D.C. Area Youth

WHAT: The Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association (WANADA) and Ford Motor Company will again team up to continue developing careers in the automotive industry for aspiring and diverse youth from the metro D.C. area. Frank Ligon, director of Ford's Service Engineering Operations, will visit the Youth and Adult Automotive Training Center (YAATC) at Montgomery College on Thurs., Oct. 2, joining WANADA President Gerard N. Murphy to mark the third year of the joint Apprentice Training Program. The 2:00 p.m. community and press briefing will also introduce past graduates and current participants in the training program.

The Youth and Adult Automotive Training Center program offers technical automotive training from two sites, Montgomery College and Marshall Academy in Falls Church, Va. The centers are underwritten by Ford, while WANADA manages the program with active participation from its member dealers. Ford partners on 11 similar efforts across the country, although the WANADA program is one of only three to receive financial underwriting for the upcoming 2004 year. The WANADA/Ford Apprentice Training Program is now recruiting apprentices from dealer-sponsored pre-apprentice high school programs in D.C., northern Virginia and suburban Maryland

WHO:

• Gerard N. Murphy, president, WANADA

• Frank Ligon, director, Ford Service Engineering Operations

• Patrick Devlin, director, Automotive Technology, Montgomery College, Gudelsky Institute for Technical Education

• Richard Snyder, chairman, Dealer Education and Training Committee, WANADA

• Student participants