Geralynn Kottschade, AAM, co-owner of Jerry's Body Shop, Mankato, Minnesota, has been named chairman of the 2005 International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE). Kottschade is the first woman to chair NACE and brings 22 years of collision repair experience to the position. 

Kottschade

Jerry's Body Shop has been in business for 33 years and has received the Min-nesota Quality Ser-vice Award and the Mankato Area Quality Award. Kottschade has held several industry positions, including 2004 chairman of the international Automotive Service Association (ASA).

She is an ASA member, as well as a member of the local Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) and the MACS School System. She served as treasurer and secretary of the Collision Industry Electronic Conference Association (CIECA), and has specialized training from AKZO, ADP and CCC. She earned her Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation from the Automotive Management Institute (AMI) in 1996.

Her non-industry affiliations include membership in the Better Business Bureau, and she served in the U.S. National Guard from 1977-1982.

"I am very excited to serve as NACE chairman in 2005. I look forward to another successful show that will provide training, product introductions and networking to address the issues that face the collision industry," said Kottschade.

NACE 2005 will be held November 2-5, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The educational conference will run from November 2-5 (Wednesday-Saturday), and the Exposition will take place November 3-5 (Thursday-Saturday). The event will again be held during Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week (AAIW), taking place that same week in Las Vegas.