In a celebratory ceremony on April 10, 2024, the staff, administration, students, local and state dignitaries of Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill, NC, were presented a gleaming trophy and a check for $10,000 from Wix Filters, Tomorrow’s Technician and O’Reilly Auto Parts. The school’s Automotive Department, led by instructor Robert Ballard, was named the 2023 Tomorrow’s Tech/Wix School of the Year.”
“The career path that is in front of you can go in a lot of different directions, and I hope that you continue your commitment to work in this industry and help to make it a better place,” said Daryl Benton, vice president of Sales and Marketing for Wix North America. “This industry has a very, very long future, with 290 million vehicles and growing here in the U.S., so we’re all very excited about your future.
“I’m very proud that Wix has supported the School of the Year program for the past 15 years and we are honored to be at Chapel Hill High School. We’re looking forward to seeing you doing great things in the future.”
The School of the Year competition is open to all high schools or post-secondary schools that participate with Tomorrow’s Technician’s newsletters, website or LMS (learning management system). The competition, a national contest that finds and names the best technician training school in the country is sponsored by WIX and O’Reilly Auto Parts in conjunction with Tomorrow’s Technician, a Babcox Media resource dedicated to automotive instructors and students.Video nominations from schools across the country were received and reviewed by a panel of judges.
I can’t express how much I appreciate everybody coming out and supporting this program. We have a lot of support through the district, through Chapel Hill/Carborro City schools. We have a lot of support through the community college systems. We have partners that support us, but really it takes a team,” said instructor Robert Ballard. “I never look at this as being a me thing. It’s always a program or a team effort. I could not put this on without a group of people helping me out. I also want to thank all the students this year. It’s been a roller coaster ride this year of different things that have happened, and I appreciate all the students that support the program and come every day and have a great attitude and are interested in working on cars.”
Jim Merle, publisher of Tomorrow’s Technician said, “We are grateful to our sponsors, who have continued this support for more than 15 years. Their commitment truly underlines the importance and value placed on schools to prepare the industry’s incoming generation of technicians. We’re excited to celebrate you students today, and of course, Chapel Hill High School, with this special award and recognition.
For more information on the School of the Year, visit Tomorrow’s Technician.
