LAS VEGAS – For the second straight year collision industry activist Toby Chess was the recipient of the ABRN Leadership Award, an honor that took place during the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) Collision Industry Achievement Awards ceremony in Las Vegas Nov. 4. Chess is known for his passion for the collision repair industry, and also for his deep technical knowledge and ready willingness to do the right thing for repairers. He’s also actively involved in education and training, and was responsible for procuring nine brand-new welders for the collision repair welding program at Lex La-Ray Technical Center in Lexington, Mo., and he got a group of Southern California repairers together to help a school in Gretna, La., that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Chess received the award from ABRN Editor in Chief Tim Sramcik. Another highlight of the presentation was the March Taylor Technician ACE Award, one of two Achievement in Collision Repair Excellence (ACE) awards from VeriFacts Automotive. Presented by the late March Taylor’s daughter Tiffany, who works in the family’s business, Auto Body Hawaii, it was an emotional moment for attendees as she described her father’s legacy and how much the honor means to her before presenting the award to Gustavo Marquez of Caliber Collision, Fresno, Calif. The 2008 Collision Industry Achievement Award recipients are:• Auto Body Repair News 2008 Industry Leadership Award, Toby Chess, Los Angeles; • Fix Auto National Customer Service Index Champions, Portland Fix Auto Group: Shon Kim, Gil Messenger, Terry Mostul, Debbi Mostul, Skylar Schacht, Abbas Nikzad, Ron Warman; • 2008 Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association Outstanding Contribution, Deathe Davis – APU Solutions, Olathe, Kan.; Outstanding Dedication, Kathy Goddard – Safelite Solutions, LLC, Columbus, Ohio; Outstanding Leadership, Al Tate – Salvage Direct, York, Pa.; Lifetime Achievement, David Meiser – State Farm, Kissimmee, Fla.; • CSi Complete Clearly Elite Award, Steve Seidner, Seidner’s Collision Centers, Glendora, Calif.; • AASP/ASA/SCRS Outstanding Contribution Award, Mike Anderson, Wagonwork Collision, Alexandria, Va.; • VeriFacts Automotive VeriFacts Repair Center ACE Award, Bill Park, Big Sky Auto Body Palo Verde, Tucson, Ariz.; VeriFacts March Taylor Technician ACE Award, Gustavo Marquez, Caliber Collision - Fresno, Calif.; • Collision Industry “Quiet” Award, Ron Reichen, Precision Collision, Beaverton, Ore.; • National Auto Body Council Pride Award – James Phillip Tanner, Irmo High School, Columbia, S.C.; Mervyn A. Campbell, Centennial Auto Body, Roosevelt, N.Y.; Joseph Sanfillipo III, USA Collision Centers, Cincinnati, Ohio; Richard Gabianelli, John Kurze , Gabby’s Auto Body, Gene Scheithe, Ricardo Perez, Mark Pellino, Gene’s Auto Body, Seymour, Conn.
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