Zach Edwards
ASE Master Technician

Ashland Automotive Inc. owner Zach Edwards, is an ASE Advanced Level Master Technician. His education includes AAS Automotive Technology, Rogue Community College, 2001, BS Business Administration, Certificate of Applied Finance and Economics, Southern Oregon University, 2009. Zach is also currently a member on Rogue Community College’s Automotive Technology Program Advisory Board.

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Zach was born in Northern Minnesota, and spent much of his childhood in rural Minnesota and Iowa. He moved to Ashland from Southern Minnesota  in July of 1997. As a child Zach was fascinated with exotic sports cars, but never attempted car repair until he was forced to after his Volkswagen Bus broke down in Minnesota in 1996. There, in the dead of winter in a barn with a wood stove and the Idiots Guide: How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, Zach rebuilt a tired old 1600cc VW engine. That engine powered Zach to Ashland, where he met Alan Sommers, who Zach credits as having taught him many of the Zen-like ways of auto repair.

A short time later, Zach enrolled at Rogue Community College, Grants Pass, where he excelled in the Automotive Technology program. During school, and after graduation, he worked at several shops and dealerships in the Valley, but always came back to work with Alan at the Hersey St. garage. Fast-forward a few more years, and Zach found himself wanting to do more.  After applying for and receiving the Ford Family Foundation Opportunity Scholarship, Zach returned to academia and received a BS in Business Administration from Southern Oregon University 2008. In the midst of a recession, he decided it an opportune time to open a small business utilizing everything he had learned from on-the-job, academic, and real-life experience. Zach continues to operate and manage all areas of Ashland Automotive.