During Ruan’s Technician Appreciation Week July 7-13, we also hosted our second annual Top Technician Competition in our headquarters city of Des Moines, IA. Out of 10 competitors, James Wheetley of Cedar Falls, IA, took home first place for the second year in a row, earning $2,500 and a chance to represent Ruan at the Technology and Maintenance Council’s (TMC) National Technician Competition this fall in Raleigh, NC. He will also compete this week at the Iowa Motor Truck Association’s Maintenance Technician Competition, as well as be honored at our Driver and Operation of the Year ceremony.
Shane Riffe of Phoenix, AZ, placed second, and Devin Hoskins of Gastonia, NC, finished third. Each won a cash prize and a place in TMC’s National Technician Competition as well.
(L to R): Devin Hoskins, James Wheetley, and Shane Riffe.
We began our competition by asking all of our technicians to complete an online, 100-question assessment. Nearly 75 percent of team members took the test, and the top 10 scorers advanced to the hands-on portion of the competition, hosted at Des Moines Area Community College’s Auto/Diesel shop.
Congratulations to the seven other competitors for advancing:
- Jason Shultz, Fontana, CA
- Thomas Soltermann, Terre Haute, IN
- Brian Gill, Sellersburg, IN
- Alex Maynard, Jefferson, GA
- Mitchell Engelkes, Cedar Falls, IA
- Joseph McClung, Chester, VA
- Nohemi Estrada, San Antonio, TX
(L to R): Joseph McClung, Devin Hoskins, Brian Gill, Thomas Soltermann, Mitchell Engelkes, James Wheetley, Jason Shultz, Nohemi Estrada, Shane Riffe, and Alex Maynard.
Ruan looks forward to hosting our third Top Technician Competition next year and continuing to highlight the important work done by our valued technicians every day to keep our business moving. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to keep our drivers safe!