Created for the Collision Repair Education Foundation   “Dear Advisory Board: Thank you for your support and letting me learn how to repair body work on a car. Without your help, and Mr. Goodwin’s teaching, I probably wouldn’t have learned what I learned this semester.” “Thank you for donating tools to help us learn about a new career that can help us later in life.” “You guys have done so much for our class. We can’t thank you enough!” Collision repair students at Paulding County High School (PCHS) in Dallas, GA sent handwritten notes to members of their program’s advisory board after the school’s second annual Small Car Race, an…

Most people have settled into their career by the time they reach the age of 39, so switching careers at such a stage in life may seem like a daunting prospect – especially when the choice was not of your own volition – but Susan Bock saw the challenge as an opportunity to expand her knowledge and examine her options. Bock worked at an insurance agency for over 16 years, but in January 2009, her boss informed her that he had to let her go due to downsizing. “It was quite a shock as insurance was really all I had ever known career-wise, but I realized this would be a…

via Collision Repair Education Foundation Operative Talent, a car rebuild fundraising initiative with the goal of addressing the collision industry’s aging workforce by highlighting collision repair as a viable career path, has officially launched. Initially announced by the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF), BASF and KTL Restorations during the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meetings at the 2021 SEMA Show, Operative Talent allows for the entire collision industry to get involved. “Who agrees that we, as an industry, need to get out in front of the general public – including parents and school counselors – to educate them about this industry? And who believes we could do a better job of…

When Olivia Peterson, a collision repair student at College of Lake County (Grayslake, Ill.) applied for a scholarship through the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) earlier this year, she had no clue how far that simple action would take her in a short span of time. Chosen to receive a $2,500 scholarship from Gerber Collision & Glass, a division of the Boyd Group, Inc., in partnership with CREF, Peterson expressed her gratitude “for the investment in my future that this scholarship provides. By becoming a technician in the auto collision field, I hope that my actions will empower more women to pursue their own careers with cars, and this scholarship…

Never before has there been an easier way to support the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) – potentially in a BIG way! LKQ is launching its inaugural LKQ Cares Holiday Vote on Giving Tuesday which provides a chance for ten charities to compete for the biggest share of $400,000. CREF will be participating against a list of national and international charities that includes the American Cancer Society, Red Cross, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) Foundation. “The Foundation is competing with some of the largest, best-known charities around the globe, so it’s basically a ‘David v. Goliath’ situation,” says Brandon Eckenrode, managing director for the Foundation. “This is a…

Published in Autobody News BJ Penrod, owner of BJ’s Auto Theft and Collision in Denver, CO, was thrilled to learn that he’d entered the winning bid for a private tour of “Jay Leno‘s Garage.” The auction was held to benefit the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) and its work to support collision repair educational programs, schools and students. “As soon as I heard about the auction, I added ‘tour Jay Leno’s Garage’ to my bucket list,” Penrod stated. “My wife Lisa and I watch the TV show, and we can’t believe we won—she’s even more excited than I am!” “I heard about CREF’s auction from my BASF paint supplier, and since we’re big fans of Jay Leno, Lisa and…