When this magazine hits your mailbox, we will be in Atlanta at the annual International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE).

In 1983, when ASA sponsored the very first NACE, there were 1,573 attendees. Attendance this year will exceed 30,000 for the sixth consecutive year. The success and growth of this event can be attributed to many individuals within your association who have given countless hours, selflessly sacrificing time with their business and family.

At this year's NACE, I am participating in a seminar titled "Customer Diplomacy ... What is a Quality Repair?" In preparing for this seminar, I have been consciously thinking about what defines a "quality repair." Having to sit and purposely concentrate on this subject has proven to be a very good exercise. It's also been reassuring. My shop was originally my dad's shop. So, like many of you, I've been in this business most of my life. I was taught at an early age how to repair cars and how to repair them right.

Thanks to these early lessons, doing a quality repair is so deeply ingrained that it's as natural and vital as sleeping and breathing.

I'm looking forward to participating in this seminar and getting into the nitty-gritty of what constitutes a quality repair. I'll be talking with my professional peers, other shop owners who are committed to always attaining a quality repair. The conversation will be focused, technical and, I suspect, far-ranging.

I have participated in other NACE seminars and after each one I discover that I'm a better businessman and a better repairman than I was going into the seminar. The collective knowledge of those gathered in these rooms is incredible.

NACE seminars are technical because every participant is a collision repair professional. When I leave the show, however, and return to Turtle Creek, Pa., I won't be talking with my peers. I'll be talking with my customers, and their definition of a quality repair differs from my definition. It's my job to make certain that when I repair their car, the work meets my definition of a quality repair and their definition.

For a job to meet our customers' definition of a quality repair, it must be repaired correctly the first time and in a reasonable amount of time. The price must be fair and the customers must be treated with honesty and courtesy. These criteria apply to both mechanical and collision repairs.

It's our job to know how to repair the car correctly. It's also our job to take care of the customers so that every car that leaves our shops meets their definition of a quality repair. And when they load up the dog and kids, their car is safe and reliable.

In closing, please allow me to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a happy and safe holiday season. Can you believe this year and this century are just about over? Incredible. I'm looking forward to 2000, confident that ASA and the independent automotive service industry are as strong as they've ever been and promise to be even better in the future.

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