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http://www.fox5sandiego.com/videogallery/69604959/News/Throttle-National-Auto-Body-Show-And-Shine-2012

Leif’s Auto Collision Centers, Oregon

A long-established New York auto body shop owner who has successfully won over $1 million from insurance companies announced recently lawsuits seeking nearly $3 million from the trio of State Farm, Allstate and Adirondack Insurance.

Mike Orso, the president of Nick Orso’s Body Shop of Syracuse, New York, is suing the insurers for a variety of reasons, including shorting the shop on payments and the continued battle of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) vs. aftermarket parts.

BAR CHIEF Job Description—

• Oversee an agency with about 640 employees
• Oversee 5,177 registered body shops in California
• Manage an operating budget of about $188 Million
• Supervise a statewide network of 12 field offices

Who is John Wallauch and how did he get to be the new Sheriff for California’s auto repair industry?

To read or download this article in PDF format with photos click HERE

• To strive for collision repair excellence ...
• To affirm and defend the rights as independent business owners,
• to serve our clients based upon our one-to-one contractual relation
• ship with those clients without any 3rd party interference...
• To resist any Influence of outside entities that would mandate the
• use of inferior parts, materials and/or techniques that would be
• utilized in the repair of our customers’ vehicles.
• To Increase Consumer Awareness as to any 3rd party efforts to
• negate, dilute, or otherwise compromise the rights of vehicle owners.
• To support the actions of those entities when said efforts are
• consistent with the best interests of vehicle owners.
• To facilitate Consumer Protection in any administrative, investigative,
• or political process that may attempt to affect or influence the rights
• of vehicle owners and/or those who seek to serve them.
• To encourage our collision repair clients to promote ethical business
• practices that will benefit the industry and the vehicle owner.
• To Promote our name and mission recognition among consumers.

Sharing the Message with CCRE President Tony Lombardozzi

To view this article and the Related theCCRE Seminar article as a PDF with photos CLICK HERE

Grab some barbecue, enjoy a car show and aid cancer patients at the same time this Sunday by supporting the BBQ & Car Show Fundraiser in Vacaville.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., drop by A-1 Auto Body, 1306 Callen St., for an all-you-can-eat feast of pulled pork and barbecued beef sandwiches, roasted chicken and roasted turkey sandwiches, hot dogs and hamburgers.

Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for kids. Donations are also appreciated.

The car show will feature hot rods, race cars, sprint cars, Harleys and street bikes.

The show is in honor of Ryan Bartlett, a 21-year-old Vacaville resident whose prized possession was a bright orange Chevrolet Camaro and who lost his battle with cancer in January.

Proceeds will go to Pink Lemonade, www.pink-lemonade.org, to help provide meals and comfort to cancer patients during their treatments.

For more information, call Joey at A-1 Auto Body at 448-7101.

Maaco Auto Body and Paint in the Fremont, Newark and Union City areas, is donating a complete car paint voucher to Washington High School. The paint job will be raffled during the school’s Ninth Annual Car Show to raise money for tools and equipment needed by the school’s auto shop department.

"The first year we sponsored Washington High's car show, we thought it was a nice thing to do for the kids and the community,” Frank Barnard of Maaco Auto Body and Paint said. “I didn't expect it to be big or very interesting, but I had the best time. The kids and Doug Natale do an incredible job organizing the event, and the cars that get displayed are fantastic. You can expect a bit of everything from old classics to wildly modified hot rods to modern cars with outrageous engines, sounds systems, you name it."

Organized by students and automotive technology instructor Doug Natale, the event will close out the school year and will display student automative projects on May 12, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The event has grown to be a significant car show in the region,” Barnard said. “Scores of vehicle owners come from all over the San Francisco Bay Area to display classic cars, hot rods, motorcycles and trucks.”

Registration costs $20 for cars or motorcycles, and $7 for bicycles, plus two cans of food per vehicle. Registration continues from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m., and there is no early registration.

Participants at the car show will have the chance to win great prizes, such as gift baskets, raffle items and certificates--all while supporting good causes. The school partners with the Tri-City Homeless Shelter and Mission Valley ROP (Regional Occupational Program).
For more information about the event or any of Maaco Auto Body and Paint’s services, call 510-745-9770, view the shop on the web at www.fremont-maaco.com or visit 37414 Centralmont Place in Fremont.

BodyShopBids, a Web-based bidding mechanism that allows consumers to solicit repair estimates from local body shops, announced that it will help cover repair costs for vehicles that were damaged during recent tornados in the Dallas metro area. BodyShopBids said it will pay for 25 percent of out-of-pocket repair costs on consumer vehicles that were damaged in the storms throughout the month of April.

Chicago-based BodyShopBids provides a Web and mobile platform to connect consumers who need auto body repairs with body shops through an online bidding system. Users are able to upload photos of their damaged vehicles and receive custom quotes from local body shops for free.

“For those Dallas-Fort Worth residents who suffered damage to their vehicle, we're hoping to alleviate at least some of the stress by providing a simple solution to get their cars back into shape and defray some of the costs," said Brad Weisberg, founder and CEO of BodyShopBids.

For more information, visit bodyshopbids.com.

Benefiting the Collision Repair Education Foundation Sponsored By The Atlanta Committee     
In 2011, the collision industry provided $4.1 million in support to secondary and post-secondary collision students and their school programs through the Collision Repair Education Foundation.

Through monetary and in-kind product donations, the 2011 Collision Repair Education Foundation donors helped to provide student scholarships, student tool grants, school equipment and supply grants, the 3rd annual Ultimate Collision Education Makeover school grant, and much more. Since 2008, when the Collision Repair Education Foundation became a purely philanthropic organization, the organization has provided $7 million in school and student support through industry donors.  Learn more - click here.

The Atlanta Golf Tournament event is a fundraiser and proceeds support secondary and post-secondary collision students in the greater Atlanta area.  We encourage you to learn more about this important fundraising event and participate and/or sponsor. By doing so, you are directly supporting and benefiting our industry in Atlanta and Georgia.

Collision Repair Education Foundation Tournament Info
Wednesday, April 25th
Registration: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Shotgun Start: 12:00pm
The Highlands Course at Lake Arrowhead
(770) 479-5500
Waleska, GA 30183
http://www.lakearrowheadclub.net

I-CAR Atlanta is hosting the 3rd annual golf tournament to express appreciation to our industry business partners. We would like to offer you the opportunity to join us by sponsoring. 

Registration Forms & Fees are due no later than April 20, 2012.  Checks can be payable to: Collision Industry Foundation. Please email forms to David Kulkis at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please contact David to pay by credit card at (770) 714-6352. If you would like to mail your payment please contact Lee Sullivan at (678) 206-5214 for address. If you have any questions please contact David, Lee or Jerry Poirier at (404) 886-3487.

The Florida Collision Industry Legal Seminar was a resounding success! The event began promptly at 11:00 AM on April 14 and continued until well after 6:00 PM that evening with  a couple of short breaks and a 45 minute lunch. Many new friendships were forged with others who shared the same views and concerns.

Over 60 people attended the event from as far away as Oregon, Minnesota and New York and many states in between, and based upon the reports received throughout the day, they were encouraged by the information shared by Ray Gunder, Bret Geohagan (legal counsel for Gunder’s Auto Center, Inc.) and Barrett Smith of Auto Damage Experts, Inc.(ADE).

In a poll taken during the initial introductions, the one recurring motivation for most everyone’s attendance was to learn how to regain control of their business and its profitability.

“From discussions during the meeting and during breaks, the State Farm Parts Procurement program seemed to be one of the straws straining the camel’s back and collision repairers ‘are mad as heck and are not going to take it anymore’ and are seeking alternative methods of operating their businesses” said Ray Gunder.

“We were asked by many in attendance if we could “take the show on the road” stated Barrett Smith of ADE, and in discussing with Ray and Brent, while humbled, we agreed that if there was enough interest in any given market to arrange the travel and accommodations, we would gladly consider sharing the message with others”

Barrett went on to say: “There’s a significant thirst for this knowledge as industry professionals are just plain tired of the status quo and struggling to keep their businesses viable”. “Repairers Spend So Much Time Taking Care of Business, They Often Fail To Take Care of Their Business.”