Brief History of ASA Arizona: Giving Collision & Mechanical Support
The Automotive Service Association of Arizona (ASAAZ) was founded in 1963 to help automotive shop owners statewide through resources, training, legislation and representation, networking, communication efforts and more. The ASA of Arizona is affiliated with the Bedford-Texas-based national ASA, which is the largest not-for-profit trade association of its kind serving automotive service professionals.
Today, the Automotive Service Association of Arizona serves both the mechanical and collision-repair segments of the industry. As a state affiliate of Automotive Service Association, the Phoenix-based nonprofit includes 286 members, including 70 collision shops. As it represents the state industry as a whole, the organization has two divisions: mechanical and collision.
The ASAAZ comprises seven chapters: Mohave, Phoenix, Prescott, Tucson, Verde Valley, Yuma and the Grand Canyon Chapter, which represents members statewide that are not part of another chapter. Each elects a board member, who serves for two years, without term limits; currently, the collision division does not have a member on the board. These individual chapters hold meetings, offer local speakers and information exchange and participate in the ASA-sponsored NACE and the annual ASAAZ conference, held this year, July 9–11, at the Prescott Resort & Conference Center.
The group began as the Arizona Auto Body Association, founded June 4, 1976, by Clarence “Bud” Klinefelter, David Keilholtz and Marv Rather.
