Around ASA
Documentary features Missouri member
Warner and Jeannie George, owners of 15th Street Auto Service Inc. in Joplin, Mo., were recently visited by a group of Romanians filming a documentary. The documentary is designed to educate newly elected Romanian officials on city government in the United States, as well as small businesses and family life.
The mayor and city manager of Joplin served as tour guides for the television producer and his crew. The group attended a school board meeting and a city council meeting. They also toured city buildings, a farm and several local businesses, including 15th Street Auto. The shop has been a member of ASA since 1988.
The Georges were very honored to be the only automotive repair facility the group visited and used in the documentary. The two explained ASA in detail, as well as other related topics such as technician certification offered by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). Jeannie has been very active within ASA and was instrumental in starting the ASA-Joplin chapter. She served as chapter president for four years.
Picture: Romanian television crew visiting Jeannie and Warner George, owners of 15th Street Auto Service Inc., in Joplin, Mo.
ASA-Georgia, ASA-South Carolina
ASA-Georgia and ASA-South Carolina held a leadership conference Sept. 18-20 at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel in Jekyll Island, Ga. The three-day event provided attendees with a mixture of business education and an opportunity to network with other association and industry members. The two affiliate groups held board of director meetings, installed affiliate officers and conducted awards ceremonies.
The conference was a success with more than 130 attendees. According to Beth Smith, ASA-Georgia executive director, the conference drew more participants than in past years. Both affiliates were pleased with the conference.
Member conducts seminars for women
Boomer Kennedy, owner of Chicago Auto Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., is conducting seminars designed to reduce women's fear of car ownership and maintenance. The two-hour seminars will be held the first and third Wednesday of each month at the shop. The seminar cost is $25 per person and includes a light dinner.
Kennedy has owned Chicago Auto since 1984 and has been an ASA member since 1995. She attributes the shop's success to her reputation for high ethical standards, as well as her ability to articulate the source of vehicle repairs to her customers.
Kennedy recently received the Greater Boston Business Council 1998 Award for Excellence as a small business.
ASA-Toledo members team up with area college
Several members of the ASA-Toledo chapter have joined together with Owens Community College to offer a unique automotive training program. The Cooperative Automotive Service Technician (CAST) program offers students a tuition-paid, two-year classroom and hands-on training program. Students in the program are sponsored by one of the participating Toledo-area member shops and agree to continue working for the sponsoring business for two years following graduation.
Owens Community College has campuses in the Toledo and Findlay, Ohio, areas and is committed to small classes and personal attention. Students who complete the CAST program will earn an associates degree in applied science.
Reminder of the Month
The International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE) will be held Dec. 3-6 in Dallas. NACE '98 offers attendees a wide range of management and technical information, as well as industry education.
If you cannot make it to NACE '98, the next best thing is to get up-to-the-minute information online during the show. AutoInc., the official publication of ASA, will provide members with an "Online Daily" highlighting each day's events, as well as attendee comments and much more. The daily will be located in the AutoInc. section within the ASA Web site.
AMI announces scholarship recipients
1998 BodyShop Business Magazine Scholarship
The Automotive Management Institute (AMI), in conjunction with Babcox Publications, has named Susan Ferguson as the recipient of the "BodyShop Business Magazine Scholarship." The scholarship was established to recognize management-oriented members of the ASA Collision Division. The recipient receives $1,000 to be applied toward expenses to attend AMI seminars offered during NACE, which will be held in Dallas, Dec. 3-6.
Ferguson, the owner of Ferguson Autobody and Paint Inc., Portland, Ore., has been an ASA member since 1987. She has served on the ASA National Collision Division Operations Committee and as secretary of the ASA-Oregon affiliate. She is currently serving on the board of directors for the ASA-Portland chapter. Ferguson is a 1996 graduate of AMI's Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) program.
1998 Emil Stanley Merit Award
Four collision repair professionals have been selected to receive the AMI Emil Stanley Merit Award to recognize their commitment to management education.
The award recipients were chosen based on an evaluation of their association and industry involvement and demonstrated desire to improve their professionalism through management education.
The recipients are Kevin Haller, Schaefer Auto Body, Fenton, Mo.; David Levinthal, Dave's Auto Body, Los Angeles, Calif.; Nancy Wachs, Fred's Body Shop, Inc., Kokomo, Ind.; and Andrew Wesner, Wesner Auto Body, Oshkosh, Wis.
Haller has been a manager of Schaefer Auto Body for the past five years. He is striving to earn the institute's AAM designation and is committed to improving his management skills, allowing himself and the business to grow.
Levinthal has been an ASA member since 1997, and is committed to achieving future business growth by staying on top of current management trends.
Wachs has been an ASA member since 1989 and has worked in the family business for more than 20 years. She is committed to continuing education and pursuing the institute's AAM designation.
Wesner has been an ASA member since 1993 and has worked in the automotive service industry for more than 22 years. He is committed to improving the professional image of the automotive repair industry.
The awards honor Emil Stanley who was publisher of Automotive Body Repair News (ABRN) until his death in 1989. Stanley was committed to strengthening the professionalism of the collision repair industry through education, and was a strong advocate of NACE.
Recipients receive complimentary air transportation to NACE, hotel accommodations, NACE registration and tuition to all AMI seminars to be held during the show.
The Emil Stanley awards are made possible by a grant from ASA to EXCEL 2000, AMI's resource development program.
NATIONAL NEWS
ASA announces "Freedom to Choose" member benefit.
The ASA board of directors announced a new benefit that gives individual ASA members the freedom to choose their levels of membership.
Previously, shops who elected to join ASA were mandated to join at all membership levels available in their geographical region. Meaning, if a shop was in a large metropolitan area that had an ASA chapter and an ASA affiliate, plus the national association, the shop would be required to join all three. Now, that same shop will be free to join at any or all levels in their region. This new member benefit is effective Jan. 1, 1999.
ASA is now accepting entries from ASA affiliates and members for the annual Quill Awards contest. The Quill Awards honor ASA affiliate publications in three categories: affiliate and chapter newsletters and magazines.
ASA also honors member business television commercials. Members are encouraged to submit their best television commercial that promotes their business, credentials and business affiliations.
The Quill Award entries are judged by an industry panel and are recognized for excellence in design, content and layout. The winners are notified by letter and announced in the May 1999 issue of AutoInc. Plaques will be presented during the awards ceremony at the 1999 ASA Annual Convention, to be held March 16-21, in Bermuda.
All entries must be received by Dec. 1, 1998. Mail submissions to: ASA, Attention: Quill Awards, P.O. Box 929, Bedford, Texas 76095-0929.
ASA and AXIS Capital Inc. have announced a new member benefit that will allow ASA members to lease automotive repair equipment at a special low rate.
A member of the Equipment Leasing Association (ELA), AXIS Capital specializes in leasing automotive repair equipment. Leases can be set up for all types of equipment including lifts, paint booths, floor jacks, computers, office furniture and other office equipment.
Angie Wilson has been named editor of AutoInc. magazine, the official publication of the Automotive Service Association (ASA). Wilson has served as the magazine's managing editor for three years and has been employed by ASA since 1994. She earned her bachelor of science degree in journalism and mass communications from Kansas State University.
"Our members can be certain that under Angie's leadership, AutoInc. will continue its tradition of providing accurate, well-written articles and comprehensive coverage of ASA news and events," said G.W. "Bud" Merwin III, president and chief staff executive of ASA.
Resolving the Information Delemma || OBD Review || Consolidation: Presenting a United Front || NACE '98 Special Section || AutoInc. Cover || Guest Editorial || Tech to Tech || Tech Tips || News Briefs || Taking the Hill || Around ASA || Net Worth || Stat Corner || Shop Profile || Chairman's Message
AutoInc. Magazine ® Vol. XLVI, November 1998 (http://www.asashop.org)