The Collision Repair Education Foundation announced that 18 state gold medalists attended the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Ky., this past June with support from contributions from the Troy Holm Memorial Fund. Created by PartsTrader in memory of collision industry member Troy Holm, the fund assists students with travel grants and other forms of assistance needed to attend the national event. The initial donation, which PartsTrader doubled this year due to overwhelming requests, ensures the “best of the best” from around the country are represented at the national contest. The fund is facilitated by the Collision Repair Education Foundation.

This year’s recipients of the Troy Holm Memorial Fund included national Automotive Refinishing Technology Gold Medalist Amanda Baker and national Collision Repair Gold Medalist Luke Sabey. The 18 student recipients and their schools include:

• Chris Alcorta – Wenatchee Valley Tech (Wenatchee, Wash.)
• Tyler Austin – RD Anderson Applied Tech (Moore, S.C.)
• Amanda Baker – Ranken Technical College (St. Louis, Mo.)
• Caleb Brenaman – North Arkansas College (Harrison, Ark.)
• Colton Conner – Texarkana Arkansas Career and Tech (Texarkana, Ark.)
• Seth Darney – Harford Technical High School (Bel Air, Md.)
• Austin Feavel – Cuesta College (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
• Pedro Franco -Central Academy of Technology & Arts (Monroe, N.C.)
• Isaias Sanchez Guzman – SECTA (Las Vegas, Nev.)
• Eden Gabrielle Mays – Greenville Tech (Greenville, S.C.)
• Ben Meister – Dunwoody College of Technology (Minneapolis, Minn.)
• Cesar Mercado – Walla Walla Community College (Walla Walla, Wash.)
• Harrison Reget –Dunwoody College of Technology (Minneapolis, Minn.)
• Luke Sabey – Warren Tech (Lakewood, Colo.)
• Angelica Martinez Simon – Walla Walla Community College (Walla Walla, Wash.)
• Hunter Smith – Moberly Area Tech Center (Moberly, Mo.)
• Dustin Vachon – Oxford Hills Tech (Norway, Maine)
• Samuel Valentin – North Arkansas College (Harrison, Ark.)

“There is no better way to honor Troy than by encouraging students like this year’s recipients to hone their skills in the SkillsUSA competition and to encourage them to continue on their career path in the industry that Troy was so passionate about,” said Dale Sailer, PartsTrader’s vice president of business development. “He would be extremely gratified that so many young men and women were able to compete this year, especially given that two national gold medalists may not have even been able to participate in the competition without this financial support in his honor.”

A video is available online announcing the memorial fund, as well as an additional video featuring some of the recipients from the 2015 grants. Collision industry members interested in supporting this fund should contact Collision Repair Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode at (847) 463-5244.