As I pulled up to EZ Autobody CARSTAR in Gilbert, Arizona, it looked like a full-fledged disaster site. There were six fire trucks - three with booms extended - and about 100 firefighters and emergency technicians. But something looked different. Instead of their life-saving gear, they were dressed in shorts and blue department t-shirts, drinking coffee and eating donuts as they awaited the start of the First Response training seminar. "First responders" from Sedona to Phoenix were talking shop and admiring the highly-polished fire engines - all dressed up for this event. 

Ex-FBI agent Richard "Dick" Ross, 62, of El Dorado Hills, was sworn in as the new chief of the California Bureau of Auto Repair (BAR). Prior to this appointment, he served the state of California as an assistant team leader at the California Performance Review and as deputy commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Branch at the California Department of Insur-ance (DOI). He retired from a 30-year career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1997. 

"Project Graduation" - an alcohol and drug-free all-night graduation celebration for high school seniors - drew over 93% of the Ironwood Ridge High School senior class in its inaugural year. Mary Snider, Project Graduation chair, attributes the success to the overwhelming support of community and local business. 

Director of Marketing and Special Events at Camp Mak-A-Dream Jennifer Benton rattled off a brief history of the camp and its relationship to the collision repair industry like she was talking about her extended family.