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The National Auto Body Council (NABC) is making a second call for its 2006 PRIDE Award nominations. The PRIDE Award, celebrating its 11th year, recognizes those in the collision repair industry performing extraordinary service to their communities.
Joe Canby, Smoot's Carstar Collision Center, Reistertown, Maryland, and a 2005 PRIDE Award winner, is much more than a shop owner. He is a funeral director who, after the events of 9/11, underwent two years of training to prepare him to deal with human loss on a large scale. Within days after Hurricane Katrina, Canby was on his way to the gulf coast to assist his colleagues and the military in dealing with the death and destruction dealt the area by the storm. The NABC recognizes Canby's service and wants to continue to thank him for treating his fellow Americans with grace and dignity following one of our country's worst natural disasters. The Piña family, which owns Brea Auto Body in Brea, California, also received a PRIDE Award last year. David, Virginia Doreen, Denise and Denise's new husband, Fred Gruner, have for the last 11 years helped the Mount Tabor Orphanage in Tecate, Mexico grow from a single RV to a ten-building community with over 40 nuns and a priest in residence. The orphanage is a sanctuary for children who are victims of abuse, child prostitution and poverty, but in 2004 the facility's well ran dry. The Piña family has been working to raise the $80,000 necessary to run a dedicated water line from Tecate to the orphanage. Over $10,000 has been raised to date, not including donations from Denise and Fred's wedding, which they requested in lieu of gifts. The NABC wishes to recognize the continued charity of the Piñas. "These heroes represent who we are and what we do," states NABC Executive Director Chuck Sulkala. "We're pleased to spread the word about their positive example." Letters of recognition The NABC PRIDE Committee realizes that many in the collision industry perform exceptional humanitarian and benevolent acts of kindness without expecting recognition. This year the committee has elected to expand the program to recognize all nominees with a "PRIDE Letter of Recognition." "If you know of a worthy candidate, please nominate them, as every nomination received is an important testament to the spirit of the PRIDE Award," states Janet Chaney, PRIDE committee chair. "Choosing the PRIDE winners is a humbling and sometimes difficult job, every nomination is a deserving winner." Any individual, business organization, or group employed in a collision industry segment, including collision repair businesses, vehicle manufacturers, suppliers/vendors, educators, insurers, independent appraisers and trade associations is eligible to be nominated for a PRIDE award. Nominations may be made online at the NABC website, www.autobodycouncil.org. There is also a downloadable version of the nominating form, which can be printed and faxed to the NABC office. For more information call NABC or Janet Chaney at (480) 720-2565. Nominations can be made by phone. |
