Around ASA

By B.J. Johnson

ASA-Washington Participates in National Car Care Month

ASA-Washington held its 27th annual "Lights On" program at 12 statewide locations Oct. 7. The annual event provides motorists with the opportunity to have their vehicle's exterior lightbulbs checked and replaced at no charge. Volunteer chapter members and students from area vo-tech schools perform the bulb inspections and replacements.

More than 1,200 vehicles were inspected from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. In addition to the bulb inspections, some locations provided underhood inspections and emission checks. As in past years, the event was supported by a proclamation signed by Washington Governor Gary Locke.

ASA-Ohio Celebrates 45th Anniversary at Annual Convention

ASA-Ohio held its annual convention Sept. 22-24 at the Quail Hollow Resort and Country Club in Painesville, Ohio. This year marks the affiliate's 45th anniversary.

The three-day event provided attendees with association information through the legislative briefing, executive committee meeting and annual board of directors meeting. In addition, participants were taken on a tour of an ASA member shop, D & S Automotive Collision and Restyling, by owner Carmen Paterniti. Following the shop tour, the group traveled to the Progressive Insurance headquarters where they observed the company's adjuster training and claims processing service center.

Optional activities included a golf clinic and tournament, an evening dinner cruise on the Nautica Queen and a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The president's banquet and casino night gave attendees the opportunity to chance their luck on gaming tables, including blackjack, slot machines and roulette tables. Winning chips were cashed in for raffle tickets good for door prizes. A reverse raffle was also held with a grand prize of $10,000 that was won by Charlie E. Lipps, Charlie Lipps Service in Cincinnati. The convention closed with the annual awards breakfast in which several members were honored for their commitment and dedication to the association and the automotive service industry.

ASA Requests Golden Quill Award Entries

It's the time of year to begin thinking about entries for the Automotive Service Association Golden Quill Awards. Each year at the ASA Annual Convention, the best publications and television commercials are honored for excellence in concept, content and design. And, for the second year, ASA will recognize the best shop Web sites.

Entries for the 2000 Golden Quill awards are judged by impartial industry experts in four categories:

• Affiliate Newsletters and Magazines
• Chapter Newsletters
• Television Commercials (open to affiliates, chapters and individual members)
• Member Shop Web Sites.

Entries must have been produced from January 2000 to December 2000. Winning entries in all categories will be honored during an awards ceremony at ASA's 2001 Annual Convention, which will be held April 24-28 in Maui, Hawaii. To participate, send the best issue (only one) of your publication or a copy of your television commercial to ASA, P.O. Box 929, Bedford, Texas, 76095-0929, by Dec. 15, 2000. For Web entries, please make certain URL addresses are provided.

Springfield, Mo., Chapter Moves Forward

The ASA-Springfield chapter held its first meeting as an ASA chapter Oct. 3 at the Hemmingway Restaurant in Springfield. Bob Peters, ASA-Mo/Kan president; Lewie Maxon, ASA-Mo/Kan vice president; Jim Shannon, ASA-Mo/Kan membership recruiter; and Sheri Hamilton, ASA-Mo/Kan executive director, were on hand to discuss affiliate benefits and chapter relations.

In addition, the chapter installed as officers Ryan Hart, Autobody USA, president; Alan Quackenbush, J & M Complete Automotive, vice president; and Rick Hughlett, Rick's Automotive, treasurer.

ASA Affiliates Hold Joint Retreat

ASA-North Carolina and IGO-North Carolina held a joint fall management retreat Oct. 5-7 at the Wyndham Hotel in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Both ASA affiliates held board of director meetings during the event. In addition, Gary Gunn presented the Automotive Management Institute (AMI) seminar, “How to Measure Your Business Skills.” The course earned attendees 12 credits toward the institute's Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation.

For more affiliate information, visit ASA-North Carolina's newly launched Web site at http://www.asanc.org.

ASA-Arizona Holds Sunrise 2000

The ASA-Arizona affiliate held its annual Sunrise 2000 meeting Sept. 15-17 at Palo Verde Holiday Inn in Tucson. The meeting attracted approximately 100 attendees. The three-day event provided members with timely industry, association and management information. This year's event offered attendees the Automotive Management Institute (AMI) seminar, “How to Deal with Telephone Price Shoppers and First-Time Customers,” taught by Craig Van Batenburg, AAM. In addition, Mark Warren, AAM, taught the technical class, “Solving Common Problems with Uncommon Solutions.” Colonel Tom Schaefer presented the keynote address. Bill Filley, AAM, ASA Mechanical Division director, and Kevin Caldwell, AAM, ASA Collision Division director, were guest speakers during the Sunday luncheon.

Attendees also had the opportunity to view the latest in automotive repair services and products at the trade show. More than 20 exhibitors rounded out this successful event.

ASA Announces South Dakota as Newest Affiliate

The ASA board of directors has approved ASA-South Dakota as the newest ASA affiliate. ASA-South Dakota is the 15th affiliate group in the ASA organization.

A core group of ASA members has worked diligently for many months to attain the affiliate status. A volunteer board of directors consists of Kent Ausland, Kent's Automotive Professionals; Todd Egge, Jay Egge Automotive Service Inc.; Cal Eichmann, Willie's Auto Electric and Repair; Kevin Evans, Midtown Service; and Terry Steenholdt, T.D.S. Auto Repair Inc.

“Our goal in establishing ASA-South Dakota was threefold,” said Steenholdt. “First, as an established group, we hope to improve customer perception of the automotive industry in this area. Second, as a group we will receive better automotive, technical and management training because there are enough of us to ask for a specific type of training. And third, ASA-South Dakota will provide a chance to develop camaraderie between shop owners in this state, and will give us a chance to share our lessons from the school of hard knocks with each other.”

“We are pleased to welcome ASA-South Dakota as the newest affiliate in the ASA organization,” said ASA Chairman Howard Lewis, AAM. “This group of automotive professionals is a true asset to ASA, and we look forward to expanding the membership in ASA-South Dakota to include even more of the automotive professionals in that region.”

NATIONAL NEWS

The ASA board of directors' elections will be held Jan. 14 to Feb. 28, 2001. The official notification of ASA members seeking board positions appeared in the October issue of AutoInc. Instructions on ASA's election process were also published.

The candidates are seeking election to two general director positions.

Geralynn Kottschade, AAM, co-owner of Jerry's Body Shop in Mankato, Minn., has been named treasurer of the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA). Floyd Morasch of Farmers Insurance, chairman of the CIECA board of trustees, made the announcement. Kottschade has served on the CIECA board of trustees since1999, and has continuously served on the finance committee.

As treasurer, Kottschade will be responsible for oversight of all CIECA finances, and will serve on the executive committee. The executive committee is composed of the officers of the corporation and facilitates the effective operation of the CIECA board of trustees. Officer terms are for one year, but succession planning is used to circulate the most effective officers through several leadership positions. CIECA assists the collision industry in the effective use of information technology for electronic commerce.

In addition, Kottschade serves on the ASA board of directors as a general director and is a member of the ASA Collision Division Operations Committee.

Reminder of the Month The Automotive Service Association (ASA) will soon begin preparations for its 2001 Membership Directory. To ensure the accuracy of your listing, please verify that the information in the 2000 directory is correct. ASA uses the physical address, if it is on file, for the listing. If you have changes to the listing or would like to verify the physical address ASA has on file for you, please call ASA's Membership Department toll free at (800) 272-7467, ext. 246. It is also important to advise ASA if you have had an area code change in your area. The deadline for submitting changes to directory listings is Feb. 28, 2001. The 2001 ASA Membership Directory will be published in June and sent to all ASA members.

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AutoInc. Magazine ® Vol.XLVIII, December 2000 E-mail: asainfo@asashop.org, Web Site: http://www.asashop.org
Copyright © 2000 Automotive Service Association (ASA). All rights reserved.