Hispanic Conference Reinforces Professionalism By Juan Reyes On Wednesday, October 26, 2005 Liberty Training Institute presented the Second Annual Conference of Hispanic Automotive Technicians ‘CHAT’ at the Passaic County Community College in Paterson, NJ. The event gave way to a night of learning and enjoyment. Participating local vendors were at hand displaying their products and giving away prizes to the more than 60 technicians that came to learn about new technologies. The event brought the automotive technicians together and reinforced ethics and professionalism within the automotive industry. In today’s world many technical advances are changing the way business is done. Now more than ever knowledgeable technicians are needed. This conference was a step- ping stone to bring the Hispanic auto- motive technician up to par with these technologies so they can better serve their customers. Representatives from P&A NAPA and Autozone had their booths along with Auto Parts Professional, a local vendor, and local dealer Glen Toyota. The seminar, which was an intro- duction to new technologies, gave the participants a glimpse of what to expect in the newer vehicles. Systems like the Onstar, Bluetooth technology and the hybrid cars were explored and analyzed. Also J. D. San Pedro, a rep- resentative of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) gave a brief overview of the impor- tance of being ASE certified in today’s competitive world. ASE’s booth was at hand with materials both in English and Spanish and answering questions for the technicians who were very interested in taking the official Spanish tests available in bilingual format. The Passaic County Community College offered their meeting facility at no cost along with the food. Aspire, a division of DELPHI was responsible for facilitating the seminar material also free of charge through the gen- erosity and great support of Juan Monino and Bob Mason. All of the par- ticipants received a certificate of par- ticipation by DELPHI and Liberty Training Institute. Freddy Almanzar, Miguel Diaz, assistant to Congressman Bill Pascrell, and Sonia Rosado, Passaic County Freeholder, were the invited guests who addressed the tech- nicians and inspired them to keep mov- ing forward and take full advantage of the presentation. Conference attendee Israel Hernandez, president of Hernandez Auto Repair, Newark, N.J. said, “It was an experi- ence that gave me a lot of satisfaction, being able to be together with a profes- sional group with different visions. Now we have taken conscience in the need of preparation in knowledge of new technology. “In this professional camp I gained a new base of knowledge more solid and firm about how to educate or explain the procedures of reparation to my clients. ” Juan Reyes is owner of Liberty Auto Electric, Liberty Rebuilders and Liberty Training Institute, Paterson, N.J.