The Collision Repair Education Foundation and the Atlanta I-CAR Committee will be hosting back-to-back events this October that the industry is invited to attend, participate in and support. On Oct. 19th, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at Athens Technical College (Athens, Ga.) in recognition of the school’s collision program receiving a $50,000 Makeover Grant, made possible through the Atlanta I-CAR Committee’s local fundraising efforts. The event will take place from 2-4 p.m., and will showcase how through the local committee the school was able to transform their collision program with new tools, equipment and supplies. On Oct. 20th, the Collision Repair Education Foundation will then host a high school and college collision career fair at Maxwell High School of Technology (Lawrenceville, Ga.) where an anticipated 200-plus students will be attending from all over the state of Georgia who will be looking to meet industry employers. Maxwell High School of Technology was a past recipient of a Makeover Grant, also funded by the Atlanta I-CAR Committee. Shortly after the grant was completed at Maxwell, the school’s collision program saw their collision enrollment double and their students winning the state SkillsUSA collision repair competitions.

“The ability to showcase one of the schools the Atlanta Committee has worked with to the industry, as well as other school programs, is critical to improving our industry’s vision and need for qualified collision technicians,” said Georgia I-CAR State Chairman and Farmers Insurance National APD Strategy Manager Gerry Poirier. “The Career Fair is vital to showing support for the students electing to go to a technical program as they will have numerous opportunities in a vibrant and growing collision career. I would like to thank the members of the Atlanta Committee for their dedication to helping our local schools become a great source for future collision technicians in the Georgia market. It would not be possible without that team and the support from our local industry partners.”

Collision Repair Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode added, “While these two events are focused around celebrating a newly equipped Georgia school and showcasing career opportunities to students at another, the common factor with both of these events is the incredible group of industry volunteers that make up the Atlanta I-CAR Committee. This group regularly comes together, puts aside any corporate competitive differences, and work toward assisting the local collision students, instructors and school programs. They are quickly approaching over $200,000 raised over the past several years and these funds are being reinvested into their local collision programs. I would like to invite the industry to attend these events and come see what this group has made possible for these schools. I cannot thank and recognize this group enough for their collective efforts.”