This year’s Red Carpet Awards Night, held Nov. 5 during the SEMA Show, recognized excellence in the collision industry. Nine organizations gave out a total of 20 awards.
The annual event dates back to 2017, when some industry groups approached the SEMA Show and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) to set up a structured way to give out awards during SEMA.
SCRS was asked to develop the event in coordination with SEMA organizers and have the participants directly contribute to its success.
Stacey Phillips Ronak.
Although it was initially held as a breakfast, the industry planned it as an evening event for the first time last year following CIC’s 40th anniversary celebration.
The Red Carpet Night was supported by the organizations that presented awards. The following organizations provided additional sponsorship: BodyShop Business, the Collision Industry Conference (CIC), the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF), the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR), and SCRS.
“Tonight, we will honor those who go above and beyond, who dedicate their skills and time to elevate our standards, and who serve as role models for their peers,” said Stacey Phillips Ronak, owner of Radiant Writing & Communications and the emcee of the event. “The awards represent more than just accolades; they are a testament to the hard work and determination that drives our industry forward.”
BodyShop Business
Barry Dorn, left, and Jason Stahl, right.
BodyShop Business presented two Executive of the Year Awards.
“The winners of these prestigious awards are true collision repair visionaries who have experienced great success through innovative thinking, overcoming challenges and persevering,” said Jason Stahl, the magazine’s editor, who gave out the awards.
Barry Dorn, owner of Dorn’s Paint & Body in Mechanicsville, VA, received the Single-Shop Award. “Dorn is often regarded as a creative and positive leader within the industry and brings insight on areas of focus for collision repair professionals effecting positive change for the greater good,” said Stahl.
Wendy Patrick, left, and Jason Stahl, right.
“There are so many other folks who should be up here besides me,” said Dorn. “I’m incredibly honored and truly shocked.”
Wendy Patrick, chief administrative officer of Joe Hudson’s Collision Center in Pike Road, AL, won the Multi-Shop Award. Stahl said her peers look up to her for guidance because her energy is unparalleled.
“She is the one who, when everyone else says something cannot happen, makes it happen,” he added.
Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA)
Ashley Denison, chief information officer for Caliber Collision and this year’s CIECA chairperson, announced the organization’s five awards from the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA), which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year.
Three individuals received an award for Outstanding Contribution.
Chris Martinez, left, Ashley Denison, center, and Paul Barry, right.
Chris Martinez, lead integrations developer at Nexsyis Collision, was the first. Since joining CIECA’s Architecture Committee in April 2024, Denison said Martinez has contributed technical expertise from the collision repair industry perspective.
“The other committee members greatly appreciate his time and contribution throughout the year to help develop CIECA API Standards (CAPIS),” said Denison.
“Being part of CIECA helps reduce the challenges of sharing the digital information you need to communicate,” said Martinez. “Having an industry standard facilitates business communication, ensuring a smooth flow of information between all stakeholders, benefiting the industry and its customers.”
Gaurav “Rav” Mendiratta, left, Ashley Denison, center, and Paul Barry, right.
Gaurav “Rav” Mendiratta, CEO of SocioSquares and chief product officer at Propel, also received an Outstanding Contribution award.
“We’re very appreciative of his volunteer efforts and input in helping to advance CIECA,” said Denison. “He believes in knowledge sharing and is passionate about educating members about the advantages of AI and adopting Gen AI products and solutions.”
Mendiratta said he learned about the collision industry after his wife was in a car accident and the vehicle was repaired at an Oakland, CA, body shop.
“We not only got incredible service, but I saw stacks and stacks of letters from her clients… these were testimonials from grateful customers,” recalled Mendiraatta. He and the owner talked about Mendiratta’s software and she shared information about CIECA.
Paul Barry, left, Stacey Simmons, center, and Ashley Denison, right.
The third recipient, Stacey Simmons, sales operations director at Enterprise Mobility, has volunteered for CIECA for the past few years. Denison said Simmons has gone above and beyond to help at the CIECA CONNEX Conference.
“She is extremely organized and efficient and we know we can always count on her to help,” Denison noted. “I think she's just a wonderful human.”
Simmons said she was very honored to receive the award.
“I never expected this,” she shared. “I'm very proud to be part of Enterprise and part of joining CIECA and partnering together in the industry for what we do.”
Paul Barry, left, Ken Eagleson, center, and Ashley Denison, right.
Denison named Ken Eagleson, OEC’s vice president of insurance solutions, the recipient of the Chairperson’s Award. Eagleson, CIECA’s secretary on the Executive Board, is an active CIECA member who volunteers on several CIECA Committees.
“He has been instrumental in assisting with the annual conference meetings, taking an active role in getting us phenomenal speakers every year and making introductions that help the planning go very successfully,” said Denison.
“CIECA’s commitment to open standards is something that benefits, I would say, most everybody in this room,” said Eagleson. “I am grateful to be a part of an organization that facilitates electronic commerce across all segments of our industry ecosystem, allowing us all to be more efficient and profitable in our endeavors.”
Paul Barry, left, Mark Fincher, center, and Ashley Denison, right.
CCC Intelligent Solutions, a CIECA founding member, was named Electronic Commerce Company of the Year. “This company has always been a proponent of industry standards to drive interoperability between businesses and the technologies used to manage them,” said Denison. “The company regularly demonstrates its commitment to using CIECA standards and supporting CIECA’s growth and impact throughout the industry.”
“CIECA truly does power e-commerce in this industry,” said Mark Fincher, vice president of product management at CCC Intelligent Solutions. “We’re thankful for the work that so many of the volunteers do every single day to create these standards to facilitate this open commerce.”
Collision Industry Conference (CIC)
This is the second year the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) has given out a Volunteer of the Year Award. It was presented by Jordan Hendler, CIC’s administrator, and Darrell Amberson, vice president of industry and OEM relations for Quality Collision Group and the immediate past chair of CIC.
Hendler acknowledged CIC past chairs who were asked to come up on stage during the award presentation. She then shared information about the recognition, which is given to someone who has gone above and beyond by being an ambassador of CIC’s vision and mission.
Aaron Schulenburg, third from right, accepts the award from CIC.
“They really participate by chairing committees, they contribute to the engagement of CIC or they just make things better than they found it,” she explained.
Amberson said the recipient is one of CIC’s hardest-working committee chairs and is “…exceedingly dependable, willing to take on tough topics.” In addition, Amberson said the award winner has shared excellent, dynamic presentations, is quick to come to the mic and contribute, and has become a great promoter of CIC.
“I've gotten to know him over the years, and every year, my appreciation and respect for him continues to grow,” said Amberson.
“This is very cool and very unexpected and I’m super grateful,” said recipient Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of SCRS.
He shared that his first CIC was more than 20 years ago, when March Taylor told him that that more young people needed to attend the meetings, stand up and be vocal, write articles and “say the stuff that matters.”
“I think about that every time I walk to the microphone,” said Schulenburg.
Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF)
CREF’s Fueling the Future Awards were presented by Amber Ritter, the organization’s director of marketing and project management. The first award was given to Josh Kent, executive director of the Carolinas Collision Association (CCA).
When Kent first helped to start CCA seven years ago, Ritter said he recognized three things: the need to cover all angles of the industry, the need to attract the next generation, and the importance of bringing solutions to their members.
“Currently, they have 32 schools in their network and, through CREF, have raised over $12,700 over the past three years, supporting scholarships and uniforms,” noted Ritter. “In talking with Josh, one of the things that really stood out was that he has witnessed members change their mindset, and it was through his efforts that change occurred.”
Julie Lombardo, left, Amber Ritter, center, and Greg Brink, right.
She said the Fueling the Future award is about taking the time and effort to invest in the next generation and rallying others to do the same.
“We at CCA are dedicated to making this industry better,” said Kent. “We will continue to focus on the next generation and to help change the mindsets of shops. I challenge all associations to do the same.”
Ritter then announced two additional award recipients: Greg Brink, a retired instructor and advisory committee member of Rock Valley College, and Julie Lombardo, executive director of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Illinois (AASPI).
Ritter described them as a “duo that truly showcases what it takes to collaborate and persevere to create change.”
Brink and Lombardo worked together to help open a new collision repair program at Rock Valley College.
“One of the reasons why we wanted to make sure that we were celebrating them together is to really highlight the work of collaboration and supporting each other's time, talents and treasures to create long-lasting results,” noted Ritter.
FenderBender
This was the first year FenderBender and ABRN magazines gave out awards at the Red Carpet event.
The Best Repair Planner/Estimator Award was presented to Anthony McNee from Ultimate Collision Repair in Edison, NJ.
What made the winner stand out, according to Jay Sicht, editor in chief of the magazines, was his focus on critical safety-related inspection items in the second round of the award selection process. For that second round, finalists completed an estimate exercise administered and judged by Collision Advice that focused on following OEM repair guidelines and not-included repair operations.
Andrew Johnson, left, Amber Alley, center, and Jay Sicht, right.
“Our winner has been tireless in his efforts to keep the shop up to date with researching OEM repair procedures and processes and has multiple OEM certifications,” Sicht said.
“I would like to thank everybody who put this event together; it means a lot to me,” said McNee, who recalled that the first estimating class he took was taught by Mike Anderson, owner of Collision Advice.
The FenderBender Award, which recognizes outstanding owners and operators whose businesses represent quality, service, culture and community involvement, was given to Amber Alley, general manager of Barsotti’s Body & Fender in San Rafael, CA.
Sicht said Alley has continued a culture of quality she found when she first started at the shop 21 years ago as the assistant manager and has fostered a team-based work structure, OEM certifications, quality repairs and OEM training.
“She has also found the time to devote to various leadership roles within the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, including currently serving as chair of the organization,” he added.
“I reflect back over the last 10 years, coming to these meetings and the mentorship that I've received from so many people in this room, and I don't think I'd be here without it,” Alley said. “I think it is very important to surround yourself with people who you look up to and respect and want to see you … do the right thing.”
Hall of Eagles
A legacy industry award added to the Red Carpet event this year was the Collision Industry Hall of Eagles, the industry’s hall of fame. The award was presented by two inductees: Chuck Sulkala, who retired five years ago from a 69-year-old family-owned business in Boston, MA, was inducted in 1989, and Stacy Bartnik, industry relations manager for Intertek, received the recognition in 2010.
Janet Chaney.
“The Hall of Eagles honors individuals who have supported our industry, not just in their roles within their jobs but also beyond their jobs, in order to work towards what's best for our industry,” explained Bartnik.
Sulkala then announced Janet Chaney as this year’s Hall of Eagles inductee.
“This is truly my nomination and my recognition tonight,” said Sulkala. “I came here for this one reason because this person has not been recognized by this industry and the time has come.”
“I've always had such great respect for our industry and our people and the Hall of Eagles,” said Chaney. “I never ever dreamed I would be getting to share the stage with these champions of our world.”
I-CAR
John Van Alstyne, left, and Jared Nicholson, right.
I-CAR CEO and President John Van Alstyne presented two awards from the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR).
The Jeff Silver Memorial Award for Platinum Individuals was presented to Jared Nicholson of Collision Leaders in Lee’s Summit, MO. The award honors an individual who has been a champion of the Platinum credential -- I-CAR's highest recognition for individuals -- and has held their Platinum status for a minimum of five consecutive years.
"I-CAR is honored to present this year's Jeff Silver Memorial Award to Jared Nicholson," said Van Alstyne. "Jared's commitment to excellence in collision repair, dedication to mentoring and workforce development epitomizes the values of this award."
Jerry's Body Shop of Mankato, MN, received the Russ Verona Memorial Award for Gold Class Shops. The recognition honors a collision repair center that has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to excellence, upholding the Gold Class Standard and actively promoting training.
Left to right: John Van Alstyne with Geralynn, Jerry and Laura Kottschade.
"Jerry's Body Shop has been promoting complete, safe and quality repairs since 1991, proudly displaying and promoting their Gold Class designation," said Van Alstyne. "Their 33-year commitment to the Gold Class standard extends beyond their shop to their community and the collision repair industry as a whole."
Van Alstyne said the Kottschade family, including owners Jerry and Geralynn Kottschade and second-generation owner Laura Kottschade, exemplify a deep dedication to the collision repair industry.
Jerry said receiving the award was a great honor because Russ Verona was a friend and convinced them to become a Gold Class Shop 30 years ago.
National Auto Body Council (NABC)
Doug Schlueter, left, Henry Arroyo, center, and Debbie Teter, right.
Debbie Teter, marketing director for Garmat and co-chair of the National Auto Body Council (NABC) committee, presented NABC’s Changing and Saving Lives Award to Henry Arroyo, owner of Fix Auto Cathedral City, Indio, Palm Desert, Palm Desert South and Palm Springs in California. Teter said the award recognizes individuals in the collision repair industry who have delivered exemplary service to their community.
“Henry Arroyo has participated in National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides programs for a decade through Fix Auto USA and has gifted a number of vehicles to families in need and veterans over the years,” said Teter. “I'm totally moved by his passion for giving back to the community. He's an amazing example of those in our industry.”
Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS)
The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) gave out three awards this year.
The 2024 Collision Industry Non-Individual Service Award was presented to the Enterprise Mobility Foundation by Alley, who is also SCRS’s chair, and Laura Lozano, automotive department chair and professor of collision repair technology at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, CA.
Laura Lozano, left, Mary Mahoney, center, and Amber Alley, right.
The foundation received the award for its contributions to developing the Collision Engineering Program and resources to attract and build up a new generation of skilled professionals equipped to serve the collision repair industry. Alley explained that Collision Engineering is partnered with colleges like Contra Costa to assist in delivering an immersive training model for collision repair programs.
“By actively supporting a range of charitable causes such as the environment, health, human services, education, military and disaster relief, this foundation [Enterprise Mobility] has contributed more than half a billion dollars to thousands of nonprofits in the United States and made wide-reaching commitments from global philanthropic initiatives to community-focused projects,” said Lozano.
“This foundation has also invested directly into the future of our schools, the future of our businesses, and the future of the people who enter the collision repair industry,” added Alley.
Lozano then shared Collision Engineering’s triangle of guiding principles: education, community and industry.
Mary Mahoney, who accepted the award on behalf of the Enterprise Mobility Foundation, stressed the importance of industry, education and community coming together. “Nobody can do this on their own. It's an honor to work with every one of you,” she said.
Mahoney also shared how grateful and humbled the team was to receive the recognition.
The 2024 National Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Ron Reichen, owner of Precision Body & Paint in Oregon, by Kye Yeung, president of European Motor Car Works in Costa Mesa, CA; and Bruce Halcro, owner of Capital Collision Center in Helena, MT.
Bruce Halcro, left, Ron Reichen, center, and Kye Yeung, right.
A past SCRS chairman, Reichen has been involved in several industry organizations, including CIC, CIECA and I-CAR. “He has presented for several state associations and was a driving force behind the Oregon State Association,” said Halcro. “He is a guy who definitely thinks outside the box.”
“You meet a lot of people in this industry, and a lot of people have a lot of talk, but this individual walks the walk, and he's a true mentor to so many of us,” said Yeung. “He is not only an advocate for our industry, but he helps other individuals with a second chance in life. He is just a gentleman.”
Mike Anderson, owner of Collision Advice, received the 2024 March Taylor Kīnā ‘Ole Award. It was presented by Michael Bradshaw, vice president at K & M Collision; Dorn, of Dorn’s Body and Paint; and Schulenburg.
Kina’ole, a Hawaiian belief sometimes interpreted as flawlessness, was embodied by March Taylor, who owned Auto Body Hawaii and served on the SCRS Board of Directors. It represents doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, for the right individual, for the right reason, with the right feeling, the first time.
Pictured, left to right, are Aaron Schulenburg, Mike Anderson, Michael Bradshaw and Barry Dorn.
Schulenburg noted how influential Taylor was to many in the industry. “He was special in ways that made us better, made us different… he shaped who many of us were as professionals, as parents and friends, as mentors to others,” said Schulenburg. “While we're recognizing people who carry on and shine on who March was, we're also recognizing all those things that he gave to us and who he was as a person.”
“March was a great friend and a mentor to many of us all over the globe,” shared Dorn. “He embodied what he stood for each day for his clients and those that worked with him.”
Dorn said Taylor was not a talker; he was a doer.
“Above anything else, March cared about everyone he worked with,” he said. “He considered you part of his family and wanted nothing in return other than to make a difference in the collision industry.”
“I don't know anybody that I've ever met in this industry or in life that works as tirelessly as this individual does, but not for himself, for everyone else,” said Bradshaw, referring to Anderson. “This man travels 300-plus days a year. He's constantly on the road so he can fulfill his vision of making the industry a better place, and I think that really exemplifies what March was about.”
Anderson said when you're growing up, there are people you want to be proud of you. “When I first heard about the man March Taylor, he was someone I wanted to be proud of me,” said Anderson.
He shared a story about Taylor visiting his shop following a CIC meeting.
Jeff Hendler.
“I got to spend several hours with him, and he complimented us on the quality of our work and our processes, and it meant as much to me as any compliment my father ever gave me,” recalled Anderson.
Over his career, Anderson has received several awards in the industry.
“No disrespect to any other organization, but this one will mean the most to me,” he said.
SCRS also recognized Jeff Hendler for his role in influencing the generations of people who followed him, working on the industry through CIC, SCRS and everything in between, and the energy and passion he has invested over the years “to make this industry better.”
“You deserve the recognition, not just for what you've done today, but for everything that every one of us has ever wanted to do…” said Jordan Hendler, Jeff’s daughter and an SCRS admin team member. “I know you say that for God so loved the world he abolished the committee. But the truth is, you didn't create committees. You created families and I'm very proud to be a second generation of that family.”
“It’s hard to not think of a lot of some of you as kids, and yet you're full-grown, full-functioning adults that are taking this industry to another level that some of us wish that we'd get to,” said Jeff. “I thank each and every one of you, and I thank the society [SCRS] and I-CAR and CIECA and NABC and all the people who work together in this industry to make us what we are. We need each and every one of us.”
Stacey Phillips Ronak