Championship Season

May 27, 2009
Are you entering your top technician in SuperTech?
I'm dealing with a strange dilemma here this week. We're preparing our July issue, which for the past three years has been dedicated to the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) SuperTech technician competition. Lee Long, George Arrants and the many volunteers who make SuperTech happen every year are true heroes; I can't say enough good things about these folks who contribute so much time and effort to providing this opportunity for fleet technicians to learn and grow. On the other hand, the powers that be at TMC have decided, for reasons unknown, not to support our July SuperTech issue this year. It just seems strange to me that they don't want to reach out to our 65,000 readers to tell them about this great event. My worry is that, without broad industry support, SuperTech will just become a rote exercise, with the same fleets entering and the same technicians winning year after year. That's great for the techs who keep winning, of course, but it doesn't do much to build up the industry in general. I think I can speak with some authority on this subject. I was on the board of directors of the old Service Technicians Society when it was started at SAE, and I stuck with the group when it migrated to TMC and became the Professional Technicians Development Committee. I was on the Committee when the idea for SuperTech was hatched and I have taken part in every event in one way or another. I want to do all I can to make sure this event keeps growing and providing opportunities for fleet technicians, but it's frustrating when the parent organization decides to go it alone.

About the Author

Mark O'Connell | Fleet Maintenance contributor

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