The National Auto Body Council (NABC), along with USAA and a host of collision repair facilities, recently donated refurbished vehicles to 15 deserving veterans and their families at USAA headquarters in San Antonio as part of the NABC’s Recycled Rides program.
All the cars were donated by USAA and were refurbished by collision repair partners Service King/Crash Champions, who repaired five of the vehicles; Caliber Collision, who also restored five vehicles; Performance Collision of Effingham, S.C., a Certified Collision Group affiliate, who presented three vehicles; and Gerber Collision & Glass, who refurbished two vehicles.
The presentation was part of USAA’s 100th anniversary celebration, through which it gifted some 100 Recycled Rides vehicles to military families across the country, including Nashville; Seattle; Chesapeake; Savannah; Charlotte; Colorado Springs; Denver; Phoenix; Tampa; San Diego; and San Antonio. It will present two final vehicles at the upcoming Army-Navy game to two deserving military members.
“USAA is proud to celebrate our 100th anniversary and our 100th vehicle gifted as we recognize 15 veterans and present them the gift of reliable transportation,” said Neal Rideout, senior vice president, Property & Casualty Distribution and Service, USAA. “Our commitment is to serve our military members, and we are proud to help these veterans and their families with the gift of reliable transportation to help them along their journey. Thank you to our many partners for making this possible.”
The recipients included:
- U.S. Army veteran Willard Foust, who received a 2017 Dodge Caravan that was repaired by Caliber Collision
- U.S. Marine Corps veteran Eli LeQuang, who was presented a 2018 Honda Civic refurbished by Caliber Collision San Antonio
- U.S. Army veteran Alfred Wilkinson, who was gifted a 2017 Honda Accord repaired by Caliber Collision San Antonio – Downtown/Broadway
- U.S. Air Force veteran Sarah Alvarez, who received a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta restored by Caliber Collision San Antonio – Austin Highway
- U.S. Air Force Reserves veteran Benigno Salas, Jr., who was presented a 2018 Hyundai Elantra refurbished by Caliber Collision San Antonio – Converse
- U.S. Army veteran Danielle Walker, who received a 2018 Mazda CX-5 repaired by Service King/Crash Champions Universal City
- U.S. Navy seaman Seth McGraw, who was presented a 2019 Jeep Compass that was restored by Service King/Crash Champions Thousand Oaks and outfitted with hand controls by Freedom Mobility
- U.S. Air Force veteran Julia Orozco, who was gifted a 2017 Honda Civic repaired by Service King/Crash Champions San Pedro
- U.S. Army veteran Edward Moreno, who was presented a 2020 Nissan Versa restored by Service King/Crash Champions Babcock
- U.S. Army veteran Rhekia Terrell, who received a 2019 Hyundai Elantra refurbished by Service King/ Crash Champions Bandera
- U.S. Army veteran Brittany Kolodgie, who was gifted a 2019 Kia Sorento that was repaired by Performance Collision in Effingham, S.C.
- U.S. Navy veteran Tiffany Kane, who received a 2021 Honda Accord Sport refurbished by Performance Collision in Effingham, S.C.
- U.S. Air Force veteran John (Jack) McCloskey, who was gifted a 2018 Nissan Versa repaired by Performance Collision in Effingham, S.C.
- U.S. Army veteran Jonathan Rosario, who was presented a 2018 Toyota RAV 4 restored by Gerber Collision & Glass Pflugerville
- U.S. Army veteran Ignacio Prieto, who received a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 refurbished by Gerber Collision & Glass Austin/12th St.
“It is exciting to join our member USAA in their 100th anniversary celebration, and we are grateful to Service King/Crash Champions, Caliber Collision and Glass, Performance Collision/Certified Collision Group and Gerber Collision & Glass, which refurbished all of today’s beautiful vehicles, for making this the largest NABC Recycled Rides presentation in our history,” said Scott Sampley, chairman of the NABC board of directors. “We are proud to meet these veterans and their families and hear their stories. We are indebted to their service to our country and are committed to helping them continue their path to independence and success with the gift of reliable transportation.”
Additional partners in the presentation included 1.800.Charity.Cars, Enterprise, LKQ, Axalta and SafeLite, among others.
For more information on Recycled Rides, click here.
