The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) recognized individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service and accomplishment within the collision repair industry on the evening of April 24 by announcing the recipients of the 2012 SCRS Industry Achievement Awards.
The awards presentation was part of SCRS’s 30th Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel in Oklahoma City.
Lifetime Honorary Memberships
Bill and Rochelle Wicklund were honored with Lifetime Honorary Memberships for their ongoing and long-standing contributions to SCRS – on both a national and local level – since SCRS’s formation in 1982.
Bill, a founding member of SCRS, and his wife, Rochelle, helped set the “repairer driven” tone SCRS continues to adopt three decades later. Only one other person in the history of the association has ever received this honor
“It’s no exaggeration to say that Bill and Rochelle are living legends within SCRS and the entire collision repair industry,” said SCRS National Director Brett Bailey, who presented the award. The son of former Vice Chairman Dan Bailey and nephew of Past Chairman Bill Bailey (1997-98), Brett grew up listening to stories about how instrumental the Wicklunds were in getting SCRS off the ground and their many decades of being on the front lines fighting for the rights of repairers. “I did the research and know firsthand that a list of their work on behalf of others fills pages. I can’t sum up everything they’ve done in a few words, so I’ll just speak for myself: I wouldn’t be the professional I am today without their contributions, and I’m pretty sure literally hundreds in our industry, maybe more, would say the same. This award is just a small token of our appreciation. We’ll never really be able to thank them enough.”
Industry Achievement Award
Scott Biggs accepted the Industry Achievement Award for his work over the past decade advocating for standards in the collision repair industry. Most recently, Biggs’ efforts garnered uniform support from three national trade groups, leading to a joint position on repair standards released in November 2011.
“Receiving this recognition at this point in my career was a huge honor for many reasons,” said Biggs, who has been an industry professional for close to 30 years. “It came from a great organization on their 30th anniversary and from the next generation of industry leadership with which I’m proud to work. What we did was obvious. What we had to do to get it accomplished was difficult. To be recognized like this makes doing the right thing for the right people all the more rewarding."
Collision Industry Non-Individual Service Award
The Collision Industry Non-Individual Service Award, intended to identify contributions to the collision repair industry that originate at a corporate or company level, was presented to two organizations.
The Automotive Education & Policy Institute (AEPI) was recognized for the information and resources it makes available to consumers to ensure the life-cycle safety and usefulness of their motor vehicles. It was also recognized for providing collision repairers the information and resources they need to serve their customers.
The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP) National was similarly recognized for its grant program that has benefited numerous industry initiatives. These include an AEPI initiative enabling the collection of and Web access to unpublished or previously unavailable legal decisions that favored collision repairers; a collaborative project between AASP and SCRS that researched the issues of business-to-business data ownership and data privacy rights from an industry perspective; and an English/Spanish dictionary of collision repair terms compiled by the National Auto Body Council (NABC).
Humanitarian Award
The NABC was awarded the Humanitarian Award, which acknowledges an individual or group whose efforts advance the industry through support of humanitarian activities outside the industry, for its Recycled Rides Program. The program is a national initiative started in 2008 through which hundreds of families and service organizations have received the gift of reliable transportation thanks in part to labor donated by members to refurbish the donated vehicles.
“The National Auto Body Council is honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award, especially from an organization with its own history of selfless giving,” said NABC President Stacy Bartnik. “The true reward comes from seeing the joy in the eyes of the families and other recipients who receive the cars that help them continue to lead bountiful, productive lives. However, having the support of our industry inspires us to work all that much harder to grow Recycled Rides as we continue to move forward.”
Individual Service Award
The Individual Service Award was presented to Jeff Hendler as special recognition of his continued passion, involvement and tireless support of SCRS and its initiatives on behalf of collision repairers.
“Receiving this award really threw me off guard,” Hendler said. “We all do what we do for the right reasons without expecting anything in return. Receiving this kind of recognition from the people with whom you work makes it all the better. It was extremely moving that I was awarded this on the night of SCRS’s 30th anniversary in the presence of a room full of industry luminaries. I cannot thank the Society enough.”
In addition to recognizing industry achievements, SCRS was also sure to recognize the ongoing support and participation it receives from its Corporate Members. Companies in this category include 1-800 Radiator & AC; 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division; ABRA Auto Body & Glass; AkzoNobel Coatings; ALLDATA LLC; American Honda Motor Company; BASF Corporation; CAR-O-LINER Company; CCC Information Services, Inc.; CELETTE, INC.; Chief Automotive Technologies; Diamond Standard Parts LLC; DuPont Performance Coatings; Ford Motor Company; General Motors; Hyundai Motor America; LKQ Corporation; Mercedes-Benz USA LLC; Mitchell International; NAPA Paint & Supply-Martin Senour; OEM Collision Repair Roundtable; PPG Refinish Products; Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes; Spies Hecker; Standox North America; The Hertz Corporation; Toyota Motor Sales USA and Volkswagen of America.
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