I-CAR announced it has awarded Chuck Sulkala, past chairman of the I-CAR International Board of Directors, the Lifetime Contribution Award in recognition of his years of dedicated leadership and service to I-CAR, and his passion and commitment to excellence in the collision industry. This award was presented at the recent 2017 I-CAR Volunteer and Instructor Conference held in La Jolla, Calif.

“Chuck is still active on several board committees for both I-CAR and the Collision Repair Education Foundation,” said I-CAR International Board of Directors Chairman Jim Roach. “His knowledge of the industry, I-CAR and overall governance makes him a tremendous asset.”

Since taking over his family-owned business 45 years ago, Sulkala has held a number of industry leadership positions, including serving as:

• Chairman, Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR)
• Chairman, I-CAR Canada
• President, Massachusetts Auto Body Association (MABA)
• Chairman, Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS)
• Chairman, Collision Industry Conference (CIC) and chairman of numerous CIC committees
• Founder, president and current executive director, National Auto Body Council (NABC)
• Vice chairman, I-CAR Education Foundation, now the Collision Repair Education Foundation, and current trustee emeritus
• Collision Division Steering Committee, Automotive Service Association (ASA)
• Board of Directors, Collision Industry Foundation

As a speaker and consultant, Sulkala has been featured at NACE on more than 10 different occasions, and has been an educational consultant and speaker for companies as diverse as 3M, Dawn Enterprises, AkzoNobel, CARSTAR, CCC Information Services, Body Shop Video, DuPont Refinishes, ProcessClaims, Sherwin-Williams Automotive, Injury Sciences, CompEst Inc., Modine Manufacturing, Auto Watch, Verifacts, Proliance International, I-CAR and Allstate. He has conducted over 150 three-day seminars across North America in the 3M/ARMS Management Workshop program.

Sulkala has been honored as “Man of the Year” by MABA and “Collision Shop Executive of the Year” by BodyShop Business magazine, and received the “Industry Achievement Award” from SCRS. He was also named honorary life member of NABC; a Hall of Eagles recipient; recognized with the ASA 2001 Humanitarian Award; and Automotive Body Repair Network (ABRN) recognized him as one of the Collision Industry’s 25 Movers and Shakers of the 20th Century. He was the first recipient of the CIC Chairman’s Award recognizing a lifetime of service to the collision industry. In addition, he has also been recognized by both ABRN and SCRS for lifetime achievement awards.

“Chuck has always been willing to go the extra mile for our industry,” said I-CAR CEO and President John Van Alstyne. “He was very involved with our Professional Development Program transition a few years back, bridging the gap between I-CAR and repairers to ensure we got the program right. Chuck’s decades of support for I-CAR and the entire industry have had a tremendous and lasting impact.”