NEWS RELEASE
Las Vegas School Benefits from Transportation Industry Collaboration
TechForce and Las Vegas Concours supporting SECTA with an Extreme Shop Make Over
LAS VEGAS, NV, October 4, 2019 – TechForce Foundation announces its Extreme Shop Makeover of the auto shop program at Southeast Career Technical Academy (SECTA) in Las Vegas. TechForce has brought together great brands like Shell/Pennzoil, Universal Technical Institute, Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance and Barrett-Jackson to provide SECTA students an inspiring learning environment. At 10:15AM on Friday, Oct 4, one-hundred and twenty students from SECTA will be unveiling their vison for the makeover at the TechForce STEM Center Presented by Shell Powered by Pennzoil at the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas Auction. They will all be treated to behind the scenes VIP tours accompanied by TV celebrities Bogi Latiner from Motor Trend’s All Girls Garage, and Jeff Allen of CNBC’s Car Chasers. Two lucky students will be opening the day’s auction by dropping the gavel on live television at 11AM.
TechForce is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) with the mission of championing students to and through their education and into careers as professional technicians. “We have a significant shortage of tech trained workforce in the automotive industry. Young adults have been encouraged for decades that the road to success is through a four-year college. Today more than ever opportunities for secure, well-paying careers in the automotive industry come through tech training,” shares Jennifer Maher, CEO of TechForce Foundation. “These are no longer blue-collar, but new-collar careers with a great paycheck. These jobs can’t be outsourced or shipped overseas, and are in high-demand. People talk about jobs, jobs, jobs: this is where good paying jobs are now and into the future.”
“We are so proud to have TechForce as our charity partner for the Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance opening night Gala on Oct. 25th at the Keep Memory Alive Event Center.” Said Stuart Sobek, founder and chairman of the Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance. “It will be a spectacular night of entertainment and our goal is to leave a legacy in our community by supporting the garage makeover at the Southeast Career Technical Academy, we have dedicated a percentage of ticket sales, an online and silent auction that will support our efforts.” For tickets: https://www.lasvegasconcours.com/tickets. Long-time supporters of the TechForce mission, Shell, Pennzoil and Universal Technical Institute, are the Gala’s sponsors.
Ryan Cordia, Principal, Southeast TECH said, "At Southeast Career Technical Academy we strongly believe in providing real-world job training for our students, and then getting them to work. We have awesome students who are ready to be leaders in the field thanks to our amazing instructors. Tech Force shares our vision to support high skill workforce development and job placement. We are very excited to cultivate this partnership and continue the workforce pipeline getting our high skilled students into high skill job opportunities."
Two other noteworthy industry developments include Jennifer Maher being named Woman of the Year by Women in Auto Care. Also, she was named the dually-appointed CEO of both TechForce Foundation and America’s Automotive Trust, two national nonprofits working collaboratively to promote car culture and to encourage development of a future workforce of technicians.
About TechForce Foundation
TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) with the mission to champion students to and through their technical education and into careers as professional transportation technicians. The Foundation distributes more than $2.0 million in scholarships and grants annually, thanks to its generous corporate sponsors and donors, and spearheads an industry-wide initiative to help encourage and support more young people to pursue the vehicle technician profession. For more information, visit www.techforce.org.
About Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance (LVCE)
In the inaugural year, the 2019 Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance brings the historic automobile show to the entertainment capital of the world. LVCE exhibits over 20 classes of rare and unique automobiles invited from around the world, most never before shown in Las Vegas. The four-day event will be hosted at some of Las Vegas’ most prestigious locations including, the Keep Memory Alive Event Center, DragonRidge Country Club at MacDonald Highlands and the iconic Las Vegas Blvd (The Las Vegas Strip). Proceeds from the celebrity golf tournament will benefit the LVCE/ArtCenter Scholarship Fund. For more information, visit lasvegasconcours.com or follow @LasVegasConcours on Facebook and Instagram.
About Shell and Pennzoil
Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with operations in more than 70 countries. In the U.S., Shell operates in 50 states and employs more than 20,000 people working to help tackle the challenges of the new energy future. The Shell downstream organization manages a portfolio of top-quality brands, including the No. 1 selling premium gasoline, Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline, No. 1 selling gasoline, Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasolines, and Pennzoil®, the best-selling, most trusted and preferred motor oil brand in America.
Media Contacts
For TechForce Foundation: Mike Pressendo, mpressendo@techforcefoundation.org, 623-445-9354
For Barrett-Jackson: Matt Ferguson, mferguson@barrett-jackson.com, 480-440-7316
For Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance: Julian Lupo, julianl@quillinlv.com, 702-818-1637
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