Published on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 11:08 AM PDT

Technician joins ‘best of the best'
Ford crowns Steve Spry top dog in his region; he's off to Michigan next

Achieving a rare honor and earning top distinction not only in his professional field but for his employer as well, Bishop resident Steve Spry is on his way to Michigan next month for a challenge that determines the "Best of the Best."

Spry, a senior master technician at Eastern Sierra Motors in Bishop, was recently named Ford Motor Company's best technician in the region that covers Southern California, southern Nevada and Arizona, beating out virtually thousands of other master mechanics for the title.

He earned the achievement at the California Regional Finals of Ford Motor Company's Professional Technician Society's 2004 Ultimate Master Technician Challenge, held this month in Los Angeles.

Spry now joins the 17 other winners of regional finals in the battle for the national championship.

According to Eastern Sierra Motors owner Bob Ellis, the road to Spry's regional title was a long one, filled with a variety of challenges to measure the mettle of Ford's technicians. As such, Eastern Sierra Motors is "extremely proud" of Spry's achievement, he said.

In the Ultimate Master Technician Challenge, 16,916 master technicians, nationwide, test their skills to determine the "best of the best." The challenge begins with an online exam that narrows the field from 16,916 to only 90 master technicians nationwide. From there, five are chosen are from each region to compete at regional finals.

In Spry's regional competition, however, two additional technicians were added at the last minute for a field of seven competitors total.

The regional competitions, Ellis explained, are comprised of hands-on exams wherein technicians are asked to diagnose and repair uniformly "bugged" vehicles.

It took Spry only 30 minutes to correctly locate, diagnose and repair the various problems, scoring 100 percent on the test to boot.

"He aced it," Ellis said, noting that not only did Spry come away with the fastest time, he also earned a perfect score. "Congratulations Steve, and job well done."

Spry competes next at the national finals at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich. in June.

Ellis expressed confidence in Spry's ability to do well on the national level.

"In our business, Steve is the perfect combination of technical knowledge and the practical ability to put it to its most effective use. I think he's going to do real, real well out there," Ellis said. But, "regardless of how we does in Dearborn, Steve Spry is n right now n one of the top 18 mechanics in the nation and he's destined to go higher."

©2004 The Inyo Register