The National Auto Body Council (NABC) recently donated refurbished vehicles to 10 deserving veterans and military members and their families at the Armed Services YMCA in San Diego, Calif., as part of their 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; Auto Body of Escondido, Auto Body of Murrieta and Auto Body of San Marcos, all three Certified Collision Group affiliates; Caliber Collision; and Fix Auto USA.
The presentation was part of USAA’s 100th anniversary celebration, through which it will gift 100 NABC Recycled Rides to military families across the country, including Nashville; Seattle; Chesapeake; Savannah; Charlotte; Colorado Springs; Denver; Phoenix; Tampa; San Diego; and finally San Antonio later this year.
“USAA was proud to celebrate our 100th anniversary in San Diego at the Armed Service YMCA and present vehicles to 10 deserving military families to provide them the gift of reliable transportation in commemoration of USAA’s 100th anniversary,” said Admiral John Bird, senior vice president, Military Affairs, USAA. “Our commitment is to serve our military members, and we are proud to help these service men and women with the gift of reliable transportation to help them along their journey. Thank you to our many partners for making this possible.”
For 100 years, USAA’s mission has been to serve active-duty service members, veterans and their families. Recipients have been nominated by nonprofit organizations to receive a NABC Recycled Ride. With the partnership of the NABC, a non-profit committed to serving their communities and many in the collision repair industry, vehicles are repaired and donated to those identified as in need of reliable transportation.
The recipients included:
- USMC SSgt Timothy Riddle, who received a 2018 Nissan Pathfinder repaired by Service King/Crash Champions
- USMC Lance Corporal Kelly Bimenyimana, who was presented a 2017 Jeep Cherokee refurbished by Service King/Crash Champions
- USMC Corporal Jorge Cuahutencos, who was gifted a 2018 Toyota CH-R restored by Service King/Crash Champions
- US Navy Logistics Specialist Seaman Lucio Quintero, who received a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado refurbished by Service King/Crash Champions
- USMC Sgt Angelo Padilla, who was presented a 2020 Subaru Outback repaired by Service King/Crash Champions
- USMC Veteran Lance Corporal Jorge Ortiz, who received a 2017 GMC Sierra refurbished by Auto Body of Escondido, a Certified Collision Group affiliate
- US Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Camille Islas, who was gifted a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe repaired by Auto Body of San Marcos, a Certified Collision Group affiliate
- US Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jacaranda Harvey, who received a 2019 Mazda CX-5 Touring restored by Auto Body of Escondido, a Certified Collision Group affiliate
- US Navy Airman Abigail Garcia, who was presented a 2020 Jeep Cherokee refurbished by Fix Auto USA
- USMC Lance Corporal Zachary Huffman, who received a 2018 Nissan Altima repaired by Caliber Collision
“It is exciting to join our member USAA in their 100th anniversary celebration, and we are grateful to all of our members, Crash Champions, Fix Auto USA, Caliber Collision and Glass, and Auto Body San Marcos, Escondido and Murrieta, all Certified Collision Group affiliates, which refurbished all of today’s beautiful vehicles,” said Ben Clymer, Jr., board member of the NABC. “We are proud to meet these military members 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, Axalta, Longhouse Inventory Solutions and SafeLite, among others.
