Tom Moreland of Akzo Nobel has been elected chairman of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), marking the first time in the association's 22-year history that a vendor representative will lead the organization. 

Moreland

"Surprisingly enough, I don't see what it takes to be successful in my role as chairman of SCRS as a whole lot different than what it takes for me to be successful with Akzo Nobel," Moreland told attendees at an SCRS award luncheon held in mid-April in Char-lotte, N.C.

"I've got to look at the industry in a wide perspective," he said. "I travel all over North America for Akzo; I see every aspect of this industry. To be successful I have to listen to collision repairers. That's my livelihood. When I listen to them, I have to assist in any small way I can to come up with solutions that ensure their long-term success and the success of the collision repair industry. That's what I have to do whether I'm working for Akzo Nobel or helping SCRS or the industry at large."

The 2005 SCRS Board: (back row, from left) Lou DiLisio, Craig Griffin, Dan Bailey, Toby Chess, Bob Smith, March Taylor, (front row, from left) Tom Moreland, Gary Wano, Chad Sulkala, Barry Dorn and Stacy Bartnik.

Moreland had strong praise for Lou DiLisio, the industry consultant who just completed his second year as chairman of SCRS, becoming only the second SCRS chairman to serve two terms. DiLisio gave much of the credit to other SCRS board members and the association's staff as he briefly outlined some of SCRS' recent efforts and accomplishments.

"Probably the thing I'm most proud of over the last year in our organization is that we not only said we wanted to work with other organizations, but we have," DiLisio said. "We've made some significant strides working with several other industry organizations such as the Automotive Service Association, the Al-liance of Automotive Service Profession-als, the Taiwan Auto Body Parts Associa-tion, and many others. We've presented a united front with these groups on more than one occasion, and I hope that continues."

He said SCRS also recognized several years ago that it needed to reach out to bring in new voices from the industry.

"We felt we understood the needs of our members fairly well, however we were sometimes viewed as being a clique," DiLisio said. "So you'll notice now that our board is made up of what we consider 'old dogs' and 'the pups.' I thinks that's been a very good thing for our organization as well as our industry. The pups come to the table with a lot of great new fresh ideas. It's proven to be a good mix for us, and the industry is much better off because of it."

Moreland said he doesn't harbor any doubt about which category he's in on the SCRS board.

"My role as chairman is to coach and help lead these new youthful leaders in the industry so they're ready as we turn this association over to them," he said.

Gary Wano of G.W. & Son Auto Body in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, will serve as SCRS vice chairman. Chad Sulkala of Acme Body and Paint in Boston, Massachusetts, was elected as treasurer, and Barry Dorn of Dorn's Body & Paint in Mechanicsville, Virginia, was elected as secretary. Stacy Bartnik of CARSTAR in Illinois was elected as director-at-large.

Serving as national directors for the coming year are Dan Bailey of Kansas, Toby Chess of California, Tim Waldren of Nevada, Farzam Afshar of California, March Taylor of Hawaii, Craig Griffin of Alabama, and Joel Lofton of Mississippi.

SCRS presents two awards

Also at the SCRS event in Charlotte, the association presented awards to two of its members.

Marco Grossi of the Collision Crafts-man chain of shops in Michigan received the SCRS Humanitarian Award, which honors individuals or groups "who advance the industry through support of charitable or humanitarian efforts outside the industry."

In presenting the award, Chuck Sulkala, executive director of the National Auto Body Council (NABC), said Grossi was instrumental in launching NABC's efforts in recent years to help Camp Mak-a-Dream, a Montana camp for children and young adults with cancer. Grossi and his company have helped raise funds for the camp both before and after NABC successfully raised $500,000 for a medical facility at the camp.