McKenzie, Tenn.–TCAT-McKenzie Automotive Instructor Dan Townsend of Paris is retiring the keys after 20 years and is passing the keys of the program to Shanna Franklin of McKenzie.
Townsend has accomplished much during his time as Automotive Instructor since 2001. Some of those achievements include but not limited to, earning, and maintaining ASE Certification for the Automotive program, industry involvement, numerous TN SkillsUSA awards, and sustaining a graduate placement rate of nearly 90 percent.
Townsend plans to spend his retirement filled with charity work, riding his motorcycles, fishing, and traveling with his wife. He says, “I feel like God has blessed me through the years and I want to give those blessings back to anyone I can. I plan to help St. Jude and the Disabled Veterans charities as much as I can when I am not enjoying my other activities.”
Graduates from the TCAT McKenzie Automotive program are trained and well prepared to take the ASE test. Over the years, Townsend has built the current Automotive program into an accurate technological learning environment. He has acquired training machines, scanners, and tools added to the program to accurately train students.
Franklin graduated from McKenzie High School in 1998 and is a mother of two. She graduated from the Automotive program in 2019 and has continued to substitute for Townsend periodically over the past couple of years. She initially enrolled in the Automotive program because she enjoyed tinkering with cars and wanted to know how everything worked together.
She accomplished many honorable achievements while enrolled at TCAT McKenzie. Shanna was inducted into the National Technical Honor Society, elected as the TCAT McKenzie Student of the Year, and was top of her class when she graduated from the Automotive program. She even went to SkillsUSA twice while enrolled and competed in Job Skills Demo and eight areas of Automotive ASE.
Her favorite part of being a student was rebuilding the engines and using all the tools the Automotive program has to offer. When she learned of Townsend’s pending retirement, she thought about how she enjoyed substituting for him and decided relatively fast to apply for the instructor’s position. She is excited to teach the skills and knowledge she has learned from Townsend to the current and future students of TCAT McKenzie.
For more information about programs offered at TCAT McKenzie, call 731-352-5364. New classes begin May 3rd, 2021.
In photo is Shanna Franklin receiving the Automotive Program’s keys from Dan Townsend. (TCAT photo).