The next time you call our Service Department and ask to speak to a master technician don't be surprise to hear a female on the other end of the phone.

BMW Motorcycles of Daytona Beach is proud that Barbara Williams, the first ever and only female BMW master technician in North America, is part of our Service Department. She is one of only 80 master technicians in the U.S. and Canada. All the others are men.

Three years ago Barbara cashed in her 401(k) retirement plan, quit her data entry job that she had held for eight years and took out a student loan to follow her dreams. She says she could not have achieved her success without the support of her family -- including her husband, Ted, their teenage daughter and three young foster children.

At the conclusion of the five-month long course Barbara graduated with honors as a certified technician and began working in our Service Department. However, her learning did not stop there. Barbara continued to take classes eventually completing all requirements for the master tech certification. Barbara has never had any trouble proving herself. She is able to accomplish the job and get it done.

Mark Sanchez, another member of our team, became a BMW tech 10 years ago after serving in the Marine Corps and earned his master tech certification two years ago. He says that there is no reason that a woman cannot be just as adept as a man working on the motorcycles that are "extremely complex" compared to other brands.

Barbara is proud that the Ocala Police Department depends on her to keep its fleet of BMW motorcycles maintained. As a member of our Service Department everyone considers her just "one of the guys" and another valuable member of our team.

Barbara's husband taught her to ride a motorcycle when she was 30. She claims that "women are the fastest growing segment of motorcycle riders." And there's no reason that a woman who doesn't mind getting her hands a little dirty can't learn to become a top-notch motorcycle mechanic.

According to Barbara "If you can put together a Barbie doll house, you can put together anything."