Schlecht has strong connections to the industry. He is the son of a retired truck technician and the brother of a truck driver who started his career as a diesel technician. The WyoTech graduate gives credit for his technical abilities to his employer’s training facility and its efforts to keep all the technicians current on both basic skills and new equipment.
Although Schlecht did not win any of the individual skill station competitions as he did last year, he consistently earned a high score for each station that netted him the top prize and awards totaling more than $20,000.
The second-place finisher was John Ragland of FedEx Express in Kansas City, Kan. Third place went to Ryder System’s Michael Bogard of Nashville.
TMC, a technical council of the American Trucking Associations, created the competition through its Professional Technician Development Committee (PTDC) to recognize and promote truck technicians.
In addition to the competition, held in conjunction with the council’s Fall Meeting, technicians participated in PTDC’s Technician Training Fair that included six sessions, each eligible for continuing education credit through the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation.For more information, visit www.tmc.truckline.com.
