Harold Redden Nominated for Northwood Education Award

For his outstanding efforts as president of the Montgomery County Automotive Career Technologies (ACT) Foundation, Harold Redden has been nominated by WANADA for the 2003 Northwood University Dealer Education Award.

Since 1972, the award has been given annually at the NADA Convention in recognition of individuals who have demonstrated substantial dedication over a number of years to the educational process, inside or outside of the industry. Harold Redden fits that description.

Beginning as lot attendant at Colonial Dodge in Rockville when he was 16 years old, Redden, 46, worked his way up to auto technician, then service manager and general manager. Currently, he is an officer at Fitzgerald Auto Malls, which includes 15 franchises in 9 locations in Maryland.

A product of Montgomery County Public Schoolsê vocational education programs, Redden is still a fully certified ASE technician, giving him a special feel for the ACT program. He has served on the ACT Foundationês board of directors for the past 11 years, the last two years serving as president.

–I suppose I have a special commitment to the ACT program because I originally wanted to be an auto technician,” says Redden.

The ACT Foundation is a program under the auspices of the WANADA-sponsored Montgomery County Students Automotive Trades Foundation, which operates –mini-dealerships” at Thomas Edison School of Technology, Damascus High School and Gaithersburg High School, as well as Marshall High School in Fairfax Co., and the Prince Georgeês Occupational Skills Foundation. These schools provide pre-apprentice auto tech training and provide prime recruits for WANADAês apprentice technician training programs presently operating days and evenings respectively at the Gudelsky Institute located on the campus of Montgomery College in Rockville, MD and at Fairfax County Public Schoolês Marshall Academy in Falls Church, VA.

–We have all worked very hard at keeping the training state-of-the art and overcoming the old grease monkey stereotype,” noted Redden.

–Auto technology was always where the kids who werenêt good in academics got placed. Thatês not the case anymore. One of the things we have been working very hard toward

is to promote the fact that auto tech is not a default position. It requires a lot of training leading to gainful employment,” Redden said.