During a surprise ceremony recently for students, faculty and staff, and instructors, WIX Filters, a global manufacturer of filtration products, in conjunction with Tomorrow’s Tech magazine, named Ranken Technical College as the 2016 School of the Year.
Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Ranken is the ninth recipient of the annual program to find and name the best technical training school in the country. WIX and O’Reilly Auto Parts are title sponsors of the national award in conjunction with Tomorrow’s Tech, a Babcox Media publication dedicated to automotive students.
“Ranken Technical College really impressed us this year,” said Jennifer Gibson, brand manager for WIX Filters. “The school has a robust automotive program, and we could tell from their submissions just how passionate they are about what they do. We’re excited to see what this program and its students continue to accomplish.”
As the 2016 School of the Year, Ranken Technical College received:
• $2,500 donation to the school’s automotive technology program from WIX Filters
• Merchandise from O’Reilly and WIX Filters
• Travel for the school’s instructor and a guest to Las Vegas to attend Babcox Media’s recognition dinner at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX)
“We’re thrilled to be named the 2016 School of the Year,” said Ronald Raines, automotive department chair and instructor at Ranken. “We are incredibly proud of the program we’ve built here at Ranken, and our diligent, determined students set themselves apart in this industry.”
The School of the Year program is open to all high schools and post-secondary schools that have a subscription to Tomorrow’s Tech magazine. Of the 140 entries for this year’s contest, 60 were from different high schools, technical schools and colleges in four geographic regions of the United States. Twenty schools were asked to submit a video highlighting their technical programs. Judges selected four finalists, or one from each region, from the video entries.
“This is one of our favorite times of the year,” said Dean Martin, publisher of Tomorrow’s Tech. “It’s always been our goal, along with the contest’s sponsors, to recognize the skills and knowledge future automotive service technicians are taking with them into the field, and Ranken is a shining example of such a program.”
This year’s three runners-up are: Automotive Training Center, Warminster, Pennsylvania; Southern Illinois University Automotive Technology, Carbondale, Illinois and Lake Area Technical Institute, Watertown, South Dakota. Each runner-up will receive a professional automotive tool set and $250 gift card from O’Reilly Auto Parts.
For more information about WIX, visit www.wixfilters.com.