The Midwest Auto Care Alliance hosted its annual Celebration of Independents Awards Dinner during the VISION Hi-Tech Training & Expo event on March 4, where VISION honored automotive service professionals and students pursuing careers in the industry.
The 2023 Humanitarian of the Year Award was presented to Matt Lachowitzer of Matt's Auto Care in Moorhead, MN.
The VISION Humanitarian Award was established in 2012 to recognize outstanding contributions in the community. The recipient must endeavor to improve the human condition through saving lives, improving the quality of life and alleviating suffering, while supporting and contributing to the basic human dignity of those in need.
One of Lachowitzer’s mottos is, “if you do the right thing for the right reasons, the money will come along with it. And if not, you can go home and sleep with yourself knowing you did the right thing.” Lachowitzer has taken doing the right thing to heart. Whether he is paying an employee several months’ salary while they are home recuperating from an injury, fixing a car for free for someone who can’t afford the repairs, buying a house so an employee can stay close to his family and work or donating a used car to a family in need, Lachowitzer seems to always put others' needs before his own.
Since the inception of Matt’s Auto Care, Lachowitzer has donated more than $1 million dollars to local and national charities. His employee and award nominator, Vern Newman, said, “If you go around our community you will likely hear that we are known for great customer service but not really hear about the charitable things we do. We don’t do these things for the recognition. We do it because it is the right thing to do. I am honored to tell you about the things that my boss, my mentor, my best friend and one of my heroes gets to do every day.”
The Midwest Auto Care Alliance congratulates Lachowitzer for exemplifying what it is to be a true humanitarian, and for raising the profile of the automotive industry as a whole.
Nomination forms will be available in July for the 2024 Humanitarian of the Year, which will be presented at the 2024 VISION Hi-Tech Training & Expo event, Feb. 29-March 3, 2024, in Overland Park, KS.
Source: Midwest Auto Care Alliance
