AASP/NJ to Award Second Annual Young Technician Grant at NORTHEAST 2022

1.24.22 – A budding auto body technician will walk away from this year’s NORTHEAST® Automotive Services Show with $5,000 worth of tools or equipment as the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) plans to present the Second Annual Young Technician Award at NORTHEAST 2022, taking place March 18-20 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center (MEC) in Secaucus, NJ.

Thanks to the continuous generosity of the Utica National Group Foundation, AASP/NJ will be able to award an up-and-coming technician who has been working in the industry for five years or less and is currently employed by an AASP/NJ member shop in good standing.

“We are excited to once again be able to help a young technician build their career thanks to this great gift from Utica,” says AASP/NJ Scholarship Committee member Ken Miller. “With the increasing difficulty of finding good workers in this field nowadays, rewarding tomorrow’s technician with resources to help keep them going in this profession is especially important.”

When Utica National Insurance Group first approached AASP/NJ Allied Board Member Joe Amato, Sr. of Amato Insurance Agency (a division of World Insurance Associates, LLC) about donating funds to the association through its charitable foundation, Amato suggested a grant would be a good way for AASP/NJ to provide for those coming into the industry.

“We are glad that we can award this grant to a young technician in need to help keep him or her in this industry,” comments Amato. “This is especially important with it being so hard to find good help.”

Last year, AASP/NJ presented the inaugural award to Casey Dombroski of Rico’s Auto Body (Robbinsville Township) at the 2021 NORTHEAST Automotive Services Show. The award presentation was a true highlight at the event as Dombroski received a plaque commemorating the award and $5,000 in Snap-on tools while surrounded by family and colleagues. Upon receiving the award, Dombroski expressed his appreciation: “I’m very grateful to have been given the Young Technician Award. The fact that my employer took the time to enter me in recognition of the hard work I’ve been doing is an honor in itself.”

Miller says AASP/NJ’s Scholarship Committee is exploring ways to expand on what automotive tools or equipment they can award with the grant money.

AASP/NJ members should be on the look out for Young Technician Award nomination information over the coming weeks.

For more information on AASP/NJ, please visit aaspnj.org. For more information and to pre-register to attend the NORTHEAST Automotive Services Show for FREE, please visit aaspnjnortheast.com.