After two days of competition, the Technology and Maintenance Council announced the winners of its first SuperTech competition, SuperTech 2005, held in Valley Forge, Penn. Steve Talmadge from Fultondale, Ala., was named the first-place winner in the competition and received a Snap-On toolbox valued at about $20,000.
Eighty volunteers judged the competition, which consisted of a written test and a series of nine hands-on workstations on subjects such as heavy-duty truck electrical systems, powertrains and suspensions.
Talmadge, a technician at Premier Truck Centers in Alabama, said he has competed in local vendor-sponsored competitions. “I’ve never won anything like this before,” he said. “This is great. I didn’t expect to win.”
Mathew VanZanten and Mike Bogart, both from Ryder, placed second and third respectively. The TMC will send all three winners to the Daytona 500 next year.
At an awards luncheon, the association also announced six new recipients of its Silver Spark Plug award, the highest honor the association bestows to members for their contributions and service. They include Jerry Anderson, Freightliner LLC; Braxton Vick, Southeastern Freight Lines; Gail Swiger, an owner-operator leased to ABF Freight; Roy Gambrell, Truck It Inc.; Jerry Thrift, Ryder; and Bob Rutherford, National Seating.
