Colleyville, Texas – Northwood University Automotive Marketing Department Chairman Joe Lescota is the recipient of the prestigious Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals’ Man of the Year Award for 2006. Lescota will receive the award in an official ceremony at the NADA Convention to be held February 2-4. The inclusion of the AFIP Certification Course in Northwood’s dealer-oriented degree tracks can be listed among Lescota’s many pioneering contributions to the institution’s record of graduating intelligent, well-prepared factory and dealer-level executives. On a much broader plain, Lescota is widely recognized as representing the very best of the automobile industry.

According to AFIP’s executive director, David Robertson, “The true value of the educational process isn’t found in knowledge for the sake of knowledge, but in practical application of that knowledge to real world situations. A mastery of the state and federal regulations applicable to the F&I process and ethical practices education are components of a degree track that delivers a definitive edge to Northwood students as they transition from the academic to the working world.”

The AFIP Certification Program is a college-level continuing and continuous education course focusing on the state and federal laws relevant to the F&I industry. The course also contains a situational ethics module. Candidates are required to sign and abide by AFIP’s strict Code of Ethics, and must renew their certification and commitment to ethical conduct every two years.

AFIP Certification is offered at a number of Northwood campuses, both through live classroom instruction and through online distance learning. To date, Northwood students have earned the AFIP Certified F&I Professional designation.

On behalf of hundreds of AFIP Industry Members and thousands of AFIP Certified professionals worldwide, AFIP offers Lescota congratulations on a job well done and much deserved recognition.