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Robert Beals became the fourth mechanic at White Motors to become a Ford Senior Master Technician.

On Thursday he was honored by his fellow technicians, Service Manager Herbert Kitchen and dealership owner Lawrence White as well as other employees of the business.

“You think about all the hard work that’s put in getting this — so good job,” White said.

For Beals, getting the honor involved constant schooling and training. “I was on the computer almost 24-7 doing online classes and then these guys sent me to school for it. It’s taken me nine years to get it but it’s well worth it.”

Those courses include automatic transmissions, gasoline engine repair, diesel repair, performance diagnosis, and electrical, which is one of the toughest ones for those trying to reach that level, the other technicians said. 

In all, the road to achieving this level involves over a thousand hours both online and classes which the candidate must travel to take. “There’s some you actually have to be in a location to be in front of the instructor and you get a little bit of hands-on.”

Those courses in which travel was required took him to Richmond, Charlotte, and Buffalo for the electrical class. “That one (the electrical) was pretty intense,” Beals said of the 80-hour class.

He said the achievement is a milestone in his life. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been working on cars since I was 13-years-old.”

Beals’ father was a Ford tech and his son is one as well, working at a dealership in Ohio. “He’s going to school for the same thing.”

Mechanics has been passed down in his family. “It went from grandfather to my dad and actually it went from my grandfather to my uncle. My dad started and then I went into Ford, never thinking I’d make this far. It’s just family tradition that’s passed down. I’ve got my oldest son — he’s in Ford and my youngest son wants to go into it. Hopefully he’ll get his diploma and continue the tradition.”

White said, “I’m just so uber proud of them. It’s so much work and such a commitment to do it. I’m really proud of them. We’ve got a lot of fantastic techs here that are trying to achieve this.”