There was an air of achievement Tuesday afternoon as Robert Green Auto & Truck recognized three World Class Technicians, with two being recognized again and one new. 

These individuals are Charles Mohr and Robert Westerman, who received the designation many years ago with a combined 70 years of employment, as well as new honoree Scott Morizzo.

“We know all the work that you do in order to become a World Class Technician,” explained General Motors District Manager of Aftersales for New York City Victor Perez. “In my family we were instructors so we know every day of what goes into [it] in order to do [accomplish] it.”

To become a World Class Technician, one needs to have eight of the nine GM Technician Certifications in a mechanical category (such as engine repair, automatic transmissions, HVAC, and steering suspension) along with matching ASE Certifications. The status of “World Class Technician” takes approximately 380 hours of training to achieve.

“It was a lot of work. I don’t know if I’d want to go through with it again,” Morizzo told the Democrat. “All of the assessments that I took, I didn’t pass them on first try but I just kept with it. Rob (Green) kept encouraging me to keep trying and eventually it paid off.”

Perez pointed out that, as of  March 2025, out of nearly 29,000 GM Technicians in the  country only 2,400 reached World Class Technicians.

“We have about 5,000 technicians and 120 of them are right here in New York working at GM dealerships,” stated Perez. “These numbers show how selective and prestigious this destination is and we don’t let that achievement go unnoticed.”

New York District Chevrolet Zone Manager and Perez’s Manager Karen Salatino highlighted the amount of training [time] that goes into this achievement, while calling the number a “small, elite group”.

“Many of you (staff) have worked with our field service engineers to become a Field Service Engineer with General Motors. This is part of the criteria,” stated Salatino. “They have to become a World Class Technician ... it’s actually the best of the best. So when you tell someone what you do for a living now you don’t say you’re an Auto Technician, you say you’re a World Class Technician because you’re joining that very small group.”

She highlighted that the accomplishment comes with the support of his family as well as the support of the Robert Green Organization.

Owner Robert Green noted that the three honorees made him very proud and should make all that work with them very proud.

“[It should make all you staff proud] that you work in a dealership that has not just one, which most have none, not just two but three World Class Technicians,” stated Green. “There are probably dealerships five times our size that don’t have three World Class Technicians in them.”

“It took me about a year and a half - close to two years - to accomplish what I did,” Morizzo told the Democrat.