Winners named in ‘America’s Best’ tech, inspector contest

SAN ANTONIO — School bus technicians and school bus inspectors from around the country vied for the top spots in the National Association for Pupil Transportation’s 2011 “America’s Best Technician” and “America’s Best Inspector” competitions, which were held here last week.

The competitions integrated a variety of training sessions, hands-on technical stations and team building exercises for both technicians and inspectors related to components and systems on school buses. They were hosted by the Texas Association of School Bus Technicians at North East Independent School District.

The results of the competitions are:

Technicians
• First Place: Alan Fidler of Indiana
• Second Place: Ralph Trango of North Carolina
• Third Place: Chris Hodges of Utah

Inspectors
• First Place: Jack Defibaugh of West Virginia
• Second Place: Jeff Pihl of Colorado
• Third Place: Scott Bettinger ofTexas

Next year’s “America’s Best” competitions will be held in Rocky Mount, N.C., with Cummins Inc. hosting.