At CARSTAR’s annual awards ceremony held Sunday night at the Downtown Sheraton in Denver, CARSTAR CEO Dick Cross and President Dan Bailey toasted each winner on stage and presented their award. The ceremony was part of CARSTAR’s annual conference, which is celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary this year.
In the category for overall operations, technical excellence, office performance and facility performance, four CARSTAR stores were honored, with one store taking home two top awards. The winners included:
Franchisee of the Year Tom and Angie Martin, owner of Sidney Body CARSTAR in Sidney, Ohio. Franchisee of the Year is the highest award given in the CARSTAR system. This year’s winner was chosen on criteria including using all vendors possible, attending conference, being image compliant, submitting reports on time online and delivering consistently high CSI in the Top 10 for the month and quarter periods.
His past five quarters of CSI have been: 98.8 percent, 98.6 percent, 98.9 percent, 98.3 percent and 97.9 percent.
Tom Martin has worked at the body shop since he was 16 years old. He started out by cleaning the floor and painting the outside of the building. He eventually began production work and painting and eventually worked his way to shop manager. When the owner decided to retire, he bought the business seven years ago. When he signed on with CARSTAR in late 2003, his annualized sales were around $650,000. Today, this store is on track to do over $1.5 million in sales.
Martin is in his second year on the Advisory Board of CARSTAR, representing the Ohio stores and is vice chairman of the Operations Committee. Locally, he was named Freemason’s "Man of the Year" for Darke, Miami and Shelby counties and received the Sidney/Shelby counties Chamber of Commerce "Beautification Award/”
Rookie of the Year George’s CARSTAR Body Shop of Chicago, Ill., led by Brian Benakos and Jun Yang. This award is given in recognition of the newest CARSTAR franchisees . To qualify for the award, a franchisee must have been with CARSTAR less than three years, be underway of achieving Tier 1 compliance and embrace the CARSTAR culture with active participation. This year’s winner joined CARSTAR in February 2007 and became a member of the Chicagoland Business Group. They have attended Conference and the Summits and have made positive contributions at each.
Outstanding Facility Performance Kurt’s CARSTAR in Maryville, Ill., owned by Kurt and Terri Mueller. The award for Outstanding Facility Performance is the second highest Franchisee Award in CARSTAR. This award recognizes the facility that consistently shows high ratings in Sales, Gross Profits, CSI, COS, Tier compliance and active involvement both in the community and within CARSTAR.
Kurt’s CARSTAR also is active in the community, heading up a charity drive for a colleague from Wichita’s family and providing enormous support for Make-A-Wish
Outstanding Technician Performance West Valley CARSTAR in West Valley, Utah, owned by Bob and Linda Ellison. The award for Outstanding Technician is given to the facility that produced the most hours and dollars per technician as indicated on the monthly flash reporting with all 12-months reporting.
Outstanding Office Performance West Valley CARSTAR. The award for Outstanding Office Staff is given to the facility that produces the most hours and dollars per front office personnel as indicated on the monthly flash reporting with all 12-months reporting.
"These CARSTAR owners and their teams have done a remarkable job building and managing their businesses in the last year, navigating a challenging economy and changing business environment to still deliver growth and success," said Dick Cross. "We’re proud of their accomplishments, and look to learn from them how we can apply their knowledge and insights across our entire organization."
Visit www.carstar.com for more information.