Around ASA

By B.J. Johnson

Idaho Members Recognized for Environmental Preservation

Co-owners of Parks Royal Body Works - Matt and Cyndi Thornton and Ted Thornton - are recipients of the Enviroguard Pollution Prevention Award.

At a ceremony held in September, Mayor Brent Coles of Boise, Idaho, honored Parks Royal Body Works and Al's Car Care for their investment in pollution prevention.

The two businesses received the Enviroguard Pollu- tion Prevention Award. The award is given to Boise businesses that are practicing innovative approaches to pollution prevention. Pollution prevention includes all efforts to reduce or eliminate the use of toxic chemicals, use fewer natural resources, use less energy, create less waste and recycle.

Parks Royal Body Works is co-owned and operated by Matt and Cyndi Thornton and Ted Thornton. Ted currently serves on the ASA Collision Division Operations Committee.

Boise Mayor Brent Coles, left, presents the Environguard Pollution Prevention Award to Rick Foerster of Al's Car Care.
The business installed a $9,000 lighting system that uses fluorescent lights with 80 percent less mercury and saves energy by using 32-watt bulbs instead of 40-watt. In addition, a paint gun cleaner/solvent recycler was purchased that cleans guns, separates the paint from the solvent, and reuses the solvent. The shop also has an extensive recycling program that diverts approximately 500 pounds of sheet metal and several hundred pounds of cardboard every week. The business has been an ASA member since 1990.

Rick Foerster has owned Al's Car Care since 1979 and is a firm believer in doing his part to protect the environment. Al's Car Care has replaced solvents with aqueous cleaners and discusses prevention opportunities at bimonthly staff meetings. Currently, Al's is replacing all in-ground hydraulic lifts with aboveground lifts to avoid groundwater contamination. The business has been an ASA member since 1990.

ASA-Ohio Holds Meeting for Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Members

Bill Haas, AAM, ASA vice president of divisions, education and training, discusses information availability issues.

ASA-Ohio, in conjunction with KOI Auto Parts, held an open house meeting Sept. 10 in Cincinnati. The meeting provided Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky industry members with information on various topics, including marketing and insurance programs.

In addition, Bill Haas, AAM, ASA vice president of divisions, education and training, provided attendees with an update on the information availability issue. Guy Garrett, ASA-Ohio membership and training coordinator, discussed the benefits of ASA membership and explained to attendees how to become involved in association activities.

ASA-Washington Welcomes New Employee

Larry Rigsby with wife, Katie.

In September, ASA-Washington welcomed Larry Rigsby as its Eastern Washington coordinator. His responsibilities include assisting in recruiting and retention efforts of the affiliate and national association.

Rigsby has a bachelor of science degree in business administration and was the owner and general manager of Moses Lake Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, as well as an entrepreneur of several small businesses.

According to ASA-Washington, Rigsby's best qualification for the position is that he comes from the industry and relates extremely well to members. He has spent the past few months visiting and acquainting himself with the Eastern Washington members and chapters.

Joe Sanders Named Collision Division Administrator

Joe Sanders has been named administrator of the Automotive Service Association's Collision Division. He returned to ASA's staff in November after 20 years as a shop owner, sales and marketing manager, and acquisition executive.

Sanders has had a passion for auto repair since he started his first business, Joe's Body Shop, while in high school. He has had a diverse range of experience in the industry, from growing small independent repair shops from scratch to running multiple large shops. Sanders' sales and marketing experience was further honed during his years as equipment sales manager for Chief EZ Liner. And most recently, he served as senior vice president for corporate development for Caliber Collision Centers. Caliber asked Sanders to assume that post after it acquired two independent collision repair shops of which he was co-owner.

Sanders was assistant executive director of the Independent Automotive Service Association, which in 1986 merged with the Automotive Service Councils to become the Automotive Service Association. In a sense, though, he never left the association, because he was active as a member. He served on the Collision Division's Operations Committee for eight years and for two of those years, was chairman. In addition, he served on the board of directors for ASA and as chairman of the International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE).

He received the Chairman's Award from ASA, and for his commitment and dedication to advancing the collision repair industry, was presented the Phoenix Award. Sanders attributes a great deal of his success in business to being active in ASA.

His industry leadership roles include service on the board of directors for the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR). Sanders was chairman of the board for ASE in 1995.

Awards include being named Bodyshop Business Magazine Executive of the Year in 1995, and induction into the I-CAR Hall of Fame as well as the collision industry's Hall of Eagles.

Sanders is enthusiastic about the direction the ASA Collision Division is taking. "I want ASA to become a more integral part of our members' businesses," he said. "We are looking for more ways to become a better day-to-day value for our members to help them compete in the market."

Do You Have An Awards Entry?

It's time to begin planning for the ASA Golden Quill Awards. Each year at the ASA Annual Convention the best Web sites and television commercials are honored for excellence in concept, content and design. Entries for the 2002 awards will be judged by impartial industry experts in two categories: member-shop television commercial and member-shop Web site. Entries must have been produced from January 2002 to December 2002. For more information, contact ASA toll-free at (800) 272-7467, ext. 213.

NATIONAL NEWS

ASA board of director elections will be held Jan. 6 to Feb. 28, 2003. Official notification of ASA members seeking board positions appeared in the October issue of AutoInc. Candidates are seeking election to two general director positions. All ASA national regular members in good standing are eligible to vote.

When voting begins, members can access the electronic ballots by calling a toll-free telephone number or logging into a secured Web site. Once a member has phoned-in or entered the Web site, he or she will vote by entering their member number plus a three-digit security code number and then following the prompts. These numbers can be found on the mailing labels of the December 2002 and January and February 2003 issues of AutoInc. The member number and security code are directly above the addressee's full name and enclosed by parenthesis ( ). Example: (123456 789).

For more information on the voting process, please contact ASA at (800) 272-7467, ext. 213.

ASA is very interested in the events of its chapters and affiliates. The Calendar of Events is published in ASA official publications, as well as on the ASA Web site. Please send information about chapter and affiliate events to ASA, P.O. Box 929, Bedford, Texas 76095-0929, Attention: Calendar of Events. Events may also be submitted via e-mail to bj@asashop.org.

ASA's Congress of Automotive Repair and Service was held in Las Vegas recently. The show was a huge success. Watch for post-show coverage in the January issue of AutoInc.

Reminder of the Month

To ensure the accuracy of your listing in the 2003 Membership Directory, please verify the information in the 2002 directory is correct. ASA uses the physical address if it's on file. 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 your area code has changed.

The deadline for submitting changes to directory listings is Feb. 28, 2003. The 2003 ASA Membership Directory will be published in May and sent to all ASA national members.

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