Blogger Praises ASA's Blog

ASA's new blog Web site, blog. asashop.org, recently received praise from a popular public relations Web site. Tech PR Gems (www.topaz partners.blogspot. com), whose site was recently recognized by Business Week, published several positive comments about the new ASA blog, which is written by Ron Pyle, ASA's president and chief staff executive. The author of the article stated, "What caught me right away was that the president of the association was the author of the posts...So they got it right by having the face of the organization actually speak ... And most importantly, they have an audience it appears that is pretty energetic."

The comments can be viewed by visiting www.topazpartners. blogspot.com/2006/09/asas-new-blog-people-who-live-in-cars.html.

ASA's blog was launched in August. The new site provides commentary and analysis about the automotive service industry from Pyle's perspective.

A blog is an interactive Web site that allows visitors to quickly post comments, share ideas and interact with others in an online setting. Although ASA's blog is one of the first in the automotive association arena, there are millions of blogs currently online, each relating to a specific subject matter.

ASA encourages members, industry professionals and consumers to visit the blog regularly and participate in the discussion. New blog topics are published biweekly.

I-CAR Brochure Available

A brochure that could be beneficial to ASA members is available from the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR).

The brochure describes the I-CAR Education Foundation's PACE + ST3 program, which is dedicated to providing students with state-of-the-art collision repair training combined with a mentored internship at a collision repair facility. PACE + ST3 stands for People Actively Creating Employability through Short-Term Task Training.

Repair facilities that participate in the PACE + ST3 program receive specialized training to build a successful relationship between student and the experienced technician who will mentor the young technician during his or her time at the facility. The program enables collision repair facility owners to hire young people who can perform entry-level tasks in a competent manner with little or no supervision.

I-CAR urges shop owners to get involved with their local career and technical school or college's advisory committee and make them aware of the program.

For more information, or to receive brochures, call the I-CAR Education Foundation at (888) 722-3787. Or, visit the PACE + ST3 Web site at www.pacest3.org.

ASA Members Among Top Shops

ASA members account for six out of the 10 shops named by Motor Age magazine as the Top Vehicle Repair Shops in the United States for 2006.

The shops were featured in a special September 2006 issue of the magazine.

Winners included the following ASA members: Larry Moore, AAM, of Larry's Auto Works, Mountain View, Calif.; Tim White, CARS (California Auto Repair & Smog), Redding, Calif.; Douglass Kirchdorfer, AAM, Downing Street Garage, Denver; Thomas J. Hire, Hire's Automotive Center, Fort Wayne, Ind.; Brian Walker, Peak Automotive, Apex, N.C.; and Michael A. Brewster, AAM, Gil's Garage, Burnt Hills, N.Y. (Editor's note: Brewster is a member of ASA's Mechanical Division Operations Committee.)

In addition to two pages of coverage in the magazine, each of the Top Shops received a plaque, a $100 cash prize, 100 extra copies of the magazine, and a copy of the article suitable for framing.

For more information on the winning shops, visit www.motor age.com.

Voting Starts Jan. 2

Don't forget: ASA members can vote anytime between Jan. 2 and Feb. 28 for two general director positions for the Automotive Service Association board of directors. Voting will be conducted electronically via the Internet or telephone. It will be simple, quick and easy. More on how to vote will be in upcoming issues of AutoInc.

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