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VALLEY – Joseph Manley, the Alabama state champion from the SkillsUSA automotive technology competition, will be competing in the national finals at the National Leadership & Skills Conference. The Conference will take place in late June at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

Manley and his Inspire Academy instructor, James Winkles, were guest speakers at Monday’s meeting of the Valley Lions Club. They shared what Manley did to place first in Alabama and how he has been preparing for the national meet.

Winkles is in his 39th year as an educator. He competed in the national finals at Louisville, Kentucky in 1982. He went on to teach at Troup High for 30 years and is in his ninth year of teaching automotive technology at Inspire Academy. He has produced state champions in his nearly four decades of being a classroom teacher.

This year’s conference will have state champions from 48 states. Last year’s national finals in Atlanta drew more than 17,000 attendees. The conference generates an estimated 28.5 million for the Atlanta area economy. The city’s 24 downtown hotels reserve at least 40,000 hotel room nights for this annual event. The World Congress Center will host the national finals at least through 2036. The World Congress Center is an ideal location for this event. It has more than 38 football fields of space on its conference floor.

Speed and accuracy are the key factors in doing well in these competitions. “There are 15 different stations,” Winkles said. “Something is wrong with a car at your station, and you have 20 minutes to fix it.”

The contestant must diagnose for multiple problems, isolate the problem and repair it within the 20-minute time limit.

“We’ll drive up there on a Monday,” Winkles said. “Tuesday is orientation day. The competition starts on Wednesday and finishes on Thursday. Friday will be awards day.”

In preparation for the finals, Manley has been training for three hours every night. In addition to his training sessions, Manley has a day job at Sanchez Automotive in Valley so he has had lots of practical experience in tracking down what’s wrong with a vehicle and getting it to run right.

Manley came close to winning a national title last year. “I came in second,” he said. “I lost out because I didn’t know one part. I love working on cars. I believe that if I can touch a car I can fix it.”

Manley has participated in automotive competitions all across Alabama. “I think I have been to every region of the state in some kind of competition or another. I love meeting people and learning new things.”

Manley credits Winkles for getting him this far along. “Thanks to Mr. Winkles I think I have a chance to be a good mechanic,” he said.

The automotive technology program at Inspire Academy also plays a big factor. More than $250,000 of training equipment has been invested in for the program. Kia has donated seven vehicles for the students to work on. This past year Winkles worked with approximately 75 students in Inspire’s automotive technology program.

On Friday, Winkles and Manley will be at Langley Motor Company in Lanett. “They are a GMC dealer,” Winkles said. “We will get some experience on a vehicle’s air conditioning.”

Manley will start his college education at Southern Union. He’d like to transfer from there to Columbus Tech, where he could be certified as an automotive technician.

Manley was asked where he would like to be in five years. “In an internship program,” he replied. “At some point, I’d like to be able to teach people what to do.”