The 2017 Mort Schwartz Excellence in Education and Auto Care Career and Education (ACE) Award winners were announced at the 2017 Auto Care Association Fall Leadership Days from Sept. 6-8 in San Francisco. During the Leadership Luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 7, the awards were presented by the Auto Care Association Education Committee.
The Mort Schwartz Excellence in Education Award is given to the individual, auto care company or educational institution that best advances the concepts and programs for education and continuing education in the North American auto care industry.
Carm Capriotto, AAP, was selected for this year’s Mort Schwartz Excellence in Education Award for his work utilizing his voice to educate the industry. Capriotto’s Remarkable Results Radio podcast is the “Voice of the Aftermarket” and has spotlighted personal stories of achievement of numerous service professionals.
“I’m changing the behavior of how aftermarket professionals get their ideas, insight and inspiration to move their business and personal goals forward,” said Capriotto. “Through storytelling, I’m helping aftermarket professionals achieve remarkable results.”
Capriotto released his 260th episode in September 2017, and continues to create valuable podcasts where listeners can “Listen to Learn Just One Thing.”
The ACE (Auto Care Career and Education) Award recognizes industry companies truly dedicated to investing in the growth of their employees’ knowledge and skills and offering professional development and career opportunities.
The 2017 ACE Award winners are:
Small Company: National PRONTO Association, Grapevine, Texas
PRONTO was recognized for:
- Training and education opportunities for employees
- Dedicating budget to training and education
- Providing employees with a variety of training and education methods, including online classes, on-site classrooms, webinars and printed materials, as well as on-the-job training and mentoring
Medium-Sized Company: MOTOR Information Systems, Troy, Michigan
MOTOR was recognized for:
- Developing two key learning programs – SEED and M-Talks
- SEED – The Software Engineering Education and Development Program – is designed to develop and refine the software expertise of a select set of high performing employees across Hearst Media by placing them in a six-month technology skills development program
- M-Talks spans across the enterprise to deepen knowledge and understanding on a wide variety of business topics. Presentations occur monthly, and feedback is regularly solicited and directly included into the program
- Investment in education is highlighted through a variety of factors, such as dedicated training funds, use of a Learning Management System, cloud-based training materials and more
Large Company: Genuine Parts Co./NAPA, Atlanta
NAPA was recognized for:
- A robust training department, which is involved from the beginning in all new projects and initiatives across departments so they can determine training needs early
- Train-the-trainer sessions and encouraging trainers to observe each other’s classes to encourage their own learning and promote consistent delivery
- The LEAD Store Manager Training Program. LEAD is an exclusive program, graduating more than 100 qualified store manager candidates per year from a six-month program that consists of classroom training sessions, hands-on mentored training in stores, over 60 e-learning programs and active coaching for each participant by four field managers from their district and division.
