Rush Enterprises held a virtual awards ceremony this week for its 16th annual Tech Skills Rodeo.
Chris Purcell, a technician at Rush Truck Centers - Atlanta, was named the grand champion of the 2021 Rush Enterprises' Tech Skills Rodeo during a virtual awards ceremony this week.
Nearly 150 associates in sales and service categories participated in this year's event, which was held remotely at 56 testing locations across the Rush Truck Center network. This was Purcell's fourth time participating in the Tech Skills Rodeo and his first year reaching the finalist stage. In addition to his overall crown, Purcell also named champion of the company's medium-duty overall division and Navistar medium-duty division and netted $19,000 in total winnings.
Erick Lincoln of Rush Truck Centers – Albuquerque, won the overall heavy-duty title and Jon Steckman, Rush Truck Centers – Columbus, Ohio, was his runner up. Lincoln is a former Tech Skills Rodeo grand champion. Paul Crawford, Rush Truck Centers – Haines City, was runner up in the medium-duty division.
Typically held in December in San Antonio, the Tech Skills Rodeo was developed by Rush Enterprises to recognize talented employees, give them an opportunity to sharpen their skills and learn more about the company's sponsor partners and their products and services. The 2021 contest was the 16th in program history, and across all disciplines Rush Enterprises and its sponsor partners awarded more than $270,000 in prizes to the Rush Truck Center employee network.
[RELATED: How Rush Enterprises built its national tech skills competition]
Emcees for this week's virtual award presentation were Jody Pollard, senior vice president of truck sales and aftermarket sales and Robb Nixon, vice president of aftermarket sales. Additionally, the final award of the event, All-Around Tech Skills Rodeo Champion, was presented by Chairman, CEO and President Rusty Rush and NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart.
A full list of Tech Skills Rodeo winners are listed below:
Truck sales division (Each winner receives $5,000)
- Ford: Rod Tankerson, Rush Truck Centers – Whittier
- Hino: Brad Munchrath, Rush Truck Centers – Dallas Medium-Duty
- Isuzu: Andrea Ramos, Rush Truck Centers – Charlotte
- International Medium-Duty: Jay Rickman, Rush Truck Centers – Doraville
- Peterbilt Medium-Duty: Chris Moss, Rush Truck Centers – Dallas Medium-Duty
- International Heavy-Duty: Andrew Hirsch, Rush Truck Centers – Charlotte
- Peterbilt Heavy-Duty: Travis Quadlander, Rush Truck Centers – Dallas
Aftermarket sales division
- Grand Champion ($5,000): Steven Wood, Rush Truck Centers – Denver
- Reserve Champion ($3,000): Walter Woodul, Rush Truck Centers – Laredo
Parts division (First-place winners receive $5,000; second-place winners receive $3,500)
- Ford: Kory Sangster, Rush Truck Centers – Dallas Light- and Medium-Duty (first); Tim Howard, Rush Truck Centers – Las Vegas (second)
- Hino: Aaron Van Straten, Rush Truck Centers – Houston Northwest(first); Eric Hauser, Rush Truck Centers – Fontana Medium-Duty (second)
- Isuzu: Matt Turpin, Rush Truck Centers – Smyrna (first); John O’Brien, Rush Truck Centers – Orlando South (second)
- International: Jeffrey Dunn, Rush Truck Centers – St. Louis (first); John Whaley, Rush Truck Centers – Dayton (second)
- Paccar: Chris Klansky, Rush Truck Centers – Denver (first); Tim Kreger, Rush Truck Centers – Denver second)
- Grand champion: Chris Klansky, Rush Truck Centers – Denver (receives an additional $7,500)
- Reserve champion: Matt Turpin, Rush Truck Centers – Smyrna (receives an additional $5,000)
Rising Star division (Level 1-2 technicians with fewer than two years of industry experience)
- First: Benjamin Harper, Rush Truck Centers – Atlanta ($3,000)
- Second: Angel Ortiz, Rush Truck Centers – Cotulla ($2,000)
Collision center division (First-place winners receive $5,000; second-place winners receive $3,500):
- Body Repair: James Gholson, Rush Truck Centers – Nashville (first); Elfego Jaimes, Rush Truck Centers – Denver (second)
- Body paint: Chris Hooks, Rush Truck Centers – Lufkin (first); Charles Woody, Rush Truck Centers – Richmond (second)
Medium-duty division (First-place winners receive $5,000; second-place winners receive $3,500):
- Allison Transmission: Jason Timmons, Rush Truck Centers – Albuquerque (first); Jason Vasquez, Rush Truck Centers – Austin (second)
- Ford: John Dobberpuhl, Rush Truck Centers – Denver (first); Riley Dodson, Rush Truck Centers – Dallas Light- and Medium-Duty (second)
- Hino: Roberto Ochoa, Rush Truck Centers – Fontana Medium-Duty (first); Thomas Powell, Rush Truck Centers – Austin (second)
- Isuzu: Jacob Ely, Rush Truck Centers – Columbus, GA (first); Michael Hartz, Rush Truck Centers – Denver (second)
- International Medium-Duty: Chris Purcell, Rush Truck Centers – Atlanta (first); Joseph Behrend, Rush Truck Centers – Idaho Falls (second)
- Peterbilt Medium-Duty: Louis Fontano, Rush Truck Centers – Fontana (first); Paul Crawford, Rush Truck Centers – Haines City (second)
- Grand champion: Chris Purcell, Rush Truck Centers – Atlanta (additional $7,500)
- Reserve champion: Paul Crawford, Rush Truck Centers – Haines City (additional $5,000)
Heavy-duty division (First-place winners receive $5,000; second-place winners receive $3,500):
- Alternative Fuels: Nicholas Keepers-Phillips, Rush Truck Centers – Oklahoma City (first); Jorge Alvarez, Rush Truck Centers – Houston (second)
- Vocational: Travis Webster, Rush Truck Centers – Houston (first); Carl Trevino, Custom Vehicle Solutions – Denton (second)
- Cummins: Travis Roland, Rush Truck Centers – Indianapolis (first); Chris Brunelle, Rush Truck Leasing – Las Vegas (second)
- Eaton: Jerry Carpenter, Rush Truck Centers – Charlotte (first); Robert LaValley, Rush Truck Centers – Flagstaff (second)
- Navistar: Jon Steckman, Rush Truck Centers – Columbus, OH (first); Tim Kelley, Rush Truck Centers – Smyrna (second)
- Paccar MX: Leonardo Lechuga Ponce, Rush Truck Centers – Phoenix (first); Erick Lincoln, Rush Truck Centers – Albuquerque (second)
- Grand champion: Erick Lincoln, Rush Truck Centers – Albuquerque (additional $7,500)
- Reserve champion: Jon Steckman, Rush Truck Centers – Columbus, OH (additional $5,000)
