Around ASA

By B.J. Johnson

ASA-Florida Holds Management Seminar

ASA-Florida sponsored an Automotive Management Institute (AMI) seminar Oct. 6 at the Indian River Junior College in Fort Pierce, Fla. The seminar, “Technician Time Management,” was taught by Bob O'Connor and attendees earned 12 credits toward the institute's Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation.

The seminar was a result of a local community college instructor and his need to bring more students into the automotive industry and his classes. The affiliate also wanted to educate members on how to be more profitable, thus allowing them to pay technicians more.

The one-day event attracted more than 35 attendees. “Everyone went away from the seminar with a new outlook on the automotive service industry and all the comments were good,” said Don Stone, ASA-Florida past president. Todd Mehalko, ASA national membership coordinator, was in attendance to answer membership questions and for recruiting purposes.

ASA-Ohio Holds Annual Small Business Day at the Capitol

For the eighth year, ASA-Ohio held its Small Business Day at the Capitol on Oct. 10. The one-day information event attracted 100 small business representatives.

Participating ASA members joined other statewide associations in the event. Attendees were briefed on tort reform and healthcare reform. In addition, members were encouraged to meet with members of the Ohio Legislature to discuss legislative issues affecting small businesses.

ASA, ASE Announce Annual Awards

In conjunction with the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), ASA recognized Scot Manna, M & B Automotive Inc., Des Plaines, Ill., as the ASA/ASE Master Automobile Technician of the Year; and Larry Durham, Durham Body Shop, Modesto, Calif., as ASA/ASE Master Collision Repair/Refinish Technician of the Year. The recipients were the highest scorers on the respective division ASE tests.

Manna has been an ASA member since 1990 and Durham since 1998.

ASA-Mo/Kan Presents Scholarships to Automotive Technology Students

The ASA-Mo/Kan affiliate established a scholarship fund to assist students in the automotive technology field. These students are not supported by a dealer or manufacturer program and must be enrolled in a Missouri or Kansas college or vocational-education (vo-tech) school in at least 12 hours of courses.

The ASA-Mo/Kan board of directors, after reviewing the applications, was pleased to present Evandros Kameris Soteris and Travis J. Small each with a $750 scholarship to assist with tuition and expenses for the current semester. Small currently works at The Auto Clinic - an ASA-Mo/Kan member shop - in Lee's Summit, Mo. Soteris is a full-time student at Longview Community College, also in Lee's Summit.

Scholarship checks were presented at the September ASA-Kansas City chapter meeting. Stan Abrahamson, director of Automotive Technology for the Longview Community College, highly recommended both students for the scholarship program.

ASA-Mo/Kan held a Scholarship Benefit Golf Tournament Oct. 20 to assist in continuing the scholarship fund. Two additional scholarships will be offered for the spring 2002 semester. Applications for the spring scholarships are available through the ASA-Mo/Kan office.


Stan Abrahamson, director of Automotive Technology at Longview Community College, Travis Small, and Bob Peters, ASA-Mo/Kan president.	Stan Abrahamson, Evandros Kameris Soteris and Bob Peters, ASA-Mo/Kan president.

NATIONAL NEWS

Each year during the ASA Annual Convention, ASA recognizes the affiliate with the largest delegation in attendance. This affiliate will be awarded a hosted reception in the chairman's suite in its honor.

The 2002 ASA Annual Convention will be held April 8-13 at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, Va. Affiliates are encouraged to begin promoting the award to its members. The ASA-Washington affiliate won the award at the 2001 ASA Annual Convention in Maui, Hawaii.

Convention registration and housing information will be mailed soon.

Colby Horton, ASA communications specialist, was the guest speaker at the ASA-Rockford, Ill., chapter board of directors meeting held Oct. 3. The board is interested in developing a chapter Web site. Horton discussed preliminary design ideas with the group. The chapter hopes to create the site by the first of next year.

Dennis Foley, ASA membership coordinator, attended the first TecSkils the Conference held Oct. 12-14 in Worcester, Mass. The three-day event offered technical training on topics including ignition, fuel injection, and OBDII. Approximately 100 industry members were in attendance. For more information on this event, as well as future events, visit the TecSkils Web site at www.tecskils.com.

The ASA board of directors approved the association's 2002 Federal Legislative Objectives and State Legislative Objectives. The objectives represent the legislative positions and strategies the association will pursue throughout the year. ASA Washington, D.C., Representative Bob Redding and his staff will monitor and act on legislation on behalf of the members and the industry.

The objectives will be published in the January issue of AutoInc. and are on the ASA Web site within the Legislative section. The site can be accessed at www.asashop.org.

Reminder of the Month

ASA will soon begin preparations for the 2002 Membership Directory. To ensure the accuracy of your listing, please verify the information in the 2001 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 the ASA 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 March 1, 2002. The 2002 ASA Membership Directory will be published in June and sent to all ASA members.

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