Joe Jackson Industry Champion Award recipients were honored by DuPont Performance Coatings at a business conference for the company’s Champion jobbers in Orlando, Fla., on June 21. For the past four years, DuPont has presented the Joe Jackson Industry Champion Award annually to recognize one or more individuals in the collision repair industry who represent the industry admirably to the public at large demonstrating outstanding leadership, heroism, charity, or humanitarian work.
Timothy P. McCann, vice president – DuPont Performance Coatings, presented a posthumous award to honor March Taylor, whose selfless contributions to the collision repair business are rivaled only by the countless hours he donated to organizations in his Hawaiian community, such as the Exchange Club, Boy Scouts and Food Bank. Taylor struggled to build a body shop more than 35 years ago in one of the most remote locations in Kona, Hawaii, and grew it into a successful family business. He also served on the board of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists and spoke on complex technical issues.
His high level of expertise and visibility at industry events gave him the designation of the industry’s leading technical expert, frequently being called on by repairers and auto and equipment manufacturers for his input and guidance. In addition to his charitable contributions, March mentored high school students on the island, offering words of encouragement so that they, too, could be successful in their chosen fields. March suffered a fatal heart attack while scuba diving in 2007. Tiffiny Taylor accepted the award on behalf of her father.
Running successful businesses is nothing new to Daniel-Gérard Rouzier. Currently the head of Haiti’s largest car dealership and the exclusive seller of several major auto brands, equipment and DuPont Refinish products, Rouzier has held several prominent corporate board seats in his native Haiti. He also is the president and founder of the biggest independent power producer there. He still finds time to serve as chairman of the board of trustees for Food for the Poor Haiti, a faith-based charity whose mission is to provide food, housing, medical services and education to Haiti’s less fortunate.
However, Rouzier took on a mission of a different kind when the most devastating earthquake the country had ever seen struck the Haitian capital of Port Au Prince, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Rouzier was honored for bringing dignity and honor to earthquake victims by taking it upon himself to ensure the victims had a fitting resting place by turning his body shop into a foundry to make crosses for the mass graves of more than 150,000 Haitians who lost their lives. In addition, he enlisted a Haitian bishop and an American priest to bless their gravesite to ensure a proper burial. Rouzier accepted his award from McCann, and in the presence of his wife, family and hundreds of Champion Jobbers, shared insightful and moving details of the aftermath from the tragic earthquake that occurred in Haiti.
In addition to the award, DuPont will make a $5,000 contribution in March Taylor’s name to Camp Mak-a-Dream, a medically supervised, cost-free camp for children, teens and young adults with cancer. The camp, located in Montana, is supported by the collision repair industry. A $5,000 donation will be made in Daniel Rouzier’s name to Food for the Poor Haiti.
The Joe Jackson award is named after a well-respected DuPont colleague who made a powerful and lasting impression on everyone he knew.
"Joe was a dear member of our DuPont Performance Coatings family, and we will never forget his passion for life, his positive impact on people throughout our industry and the world of NASCAR," said Harry Hall, North America sales manager. "Joe enriched our business and brought honor to the industry as a whole. That’s why we present an annual award in his name. And we are extremely proud to recognize March Taylor and Daniel-Gérard Rouzier with this award."
Jackson and nine other people perished in a plane crash on Oct. 27, 2004. The plane, owned by Hendrick Motorsports, was traveling to a NASCAR race in Martinsville, Va. Among those killed were the son, brother and two nieces of Rick Hendrick, owner of one of the most successful organizations in NASCAR history.
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A video featuring the accomplishments of each of the Joe Jackson Industry Champion winners can be viewed on the DuPont website.
