The TechForce Foundation announced that the grand prize public vote in their 5th annual FutureTechs Rock Awards is now open. Grand prize voting is open for one week, from Monday, Feb. 27 to Friday, March 3.
TechForce created this award to honor aspiring technicians and recognize students with a promising future in the transportation industry.
Industry expert judges selected 10 category winners from hundreds of high school and post-secondary nominations, representing 182 campuses across 38 states. Each category winner has been awarded over $1,500 in prizes. The grand prize winner, chosen from the category winners by public vote, will receive an additional $5,000-plus in scholarships and prizes from TechForce and sponsors including Advance Auto Parts; AutoZone; Cengage Learning; CRC Industries; Mighty Auto Parts; New Ford Tech; Nissan; Snap-on Industrial; Volvo; and WD-40 Company.
With the 5th annual FutureTechs Rock Awards, TechForce and its partners have awarded 50 transportation technician students with over $67,000 in prizes since 2019. The awards are made possible because of generous donations from people and companies who believe everyone should have a chance to succeed.
The 10 category winners represent seven states and 10 schools, with each being recognized in a distinct technical education discipline:
Automotive
Abbie Vetse, Hennepin Technical College, Maple Grove, Minn.
Aviation
Teresa Sacca, Antelope Valley College, Lancaster, Calif.
Collision Repair
Taeler Coverdale, Universal Technical Institute, Houston, Texas
Diesel Off-Road
Nicholas Isaly, Lenawee ISD TECH Center, Adrian, Mich.
Diesel On-Road
Andrew Younkin, Western Technical College, El Paso, Texas
Marine and Watercraft
Benjamin Pooler, Portland Arts & Technology High School, Buxton, Maine
Motorcycle and ATV
Everrett Novak, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Phoenix, Ariz.
Motorsports
Benjamin Delauter, NASCAR Technical Institute, Mooresville, N.C.
Restoration
Tyler Renken, Central Carolina Community College, Bunnlevel, N.C.
Welding and CNC
Connor Essary, St. Clair TEC, St. Clair, Mich.
The FutureTechs Rock Awards are part of TechForce’s workforce development campaign to inspire and support tomorrow’s workforce of technicians. TechForce also created the first and only social network designed and gamified for professional technicians and tech students to connect with each other, employers and schools.
Meet the 10 category winners and vote to choose the nation’s top tech student at TechForce.org/Vote.
