LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – UPS Chris Terifay and Anthony Nunez won the grand champion titles in the Arkansas Truck Technician Championship and Arkansas Trailer Technician Championship respectively held June 23 at the Rogers Convention Center. The event is hosted by the Arkansas Trucking Association.

Terifay won Rookie of the Year honors. He competed in eight technical classes on the trailer track, winning first place in the electrical, fasteners and fittings and FMCSA regulations stations. He also completed a written exam and scored the most cumulative points in the trailer contest. Terifay has worked for UPS for the last seven years of his 15-year career in the industry. He lives in Orange Park and has been identified as a Ford Master Technician and Chrysler Certified Master Specialist since he graduated from the Universal Technical Institute in 2008 with a 4.0. In September, Nunez and Terifay will represent Arkansas in the National Technician Skills Competition, SuperTech 2023, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Nunez and Terifay led the team of eight technicians from UPS to win the best overall team award for having the best overall team average score.

“The commercial vehicles that travel millions of miles across the state and nation every day are complex and require incredible technical expertise and skills to operate safely and keep our economy moving forward. This competition is a chance to see how much technicians know and do for our industry,” said Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association. “The professionals who compete in this annual event represent trucking well. Anthony, Christopher and all the competitors have made their companies proud. We applaud their dedication to keeping our trucks and the communities they visit safe.”

Nunez, a first-time competitor in a state competition, participated in 14 technical classes and completed a written exam. He claimed the second-place trophies for the FMCSA regulations, service information and wheel end stations. As Truck Technician Grand Champion, he scored the most cumulative points across all the truck classes and written exam.

Nunez has served the industry for six years and worked for Arkansas Trucking Association member company UPS for the past three years. He resides in Plainfield, N.J.