CIECA
CIECA Chairman Greg Best, senior business analyst at California Casualty, announced CIECA’s award recipients.
This year, two individuals received an Outstanding Achievement award for their tremendous contribution and dedication to CIECA over the last year.
Frank Phillips, formerly of Rivian, was the first.
“He is an active supporter of CIECA,” said Best. “He went above and beyond to arrange a tour of the Rivian plant as part of the recent CONNEX Conference and gave us a behind-the-scenes look at what the EV company is doing.”
Jake Rodenroth, North American Body Repair Program operations manager at Lucid Motors, also received an award for his committee participation and presenting at CIECA events.
“I want to thank my team at Lucid Motors; I couldn't do it without them,” said Rodenroth, who thanked Andy MacDonald, Lucid’s director of technical operations, the certified Lucid repair facilities and his family, most of all his dad.
Bill Brower, vice president of industry relations at Solera, received CIECA’s Chairperson’s Award.
“Over the last year, he has taken an active role on the CIECA Board of Trustees and regularly contributes to board discussions to help move the organization forward,” said Best.
Brower, who helped at his dad’s body shop while growing up, has worked in claims for 35 years.
“The ability to have an organization like CIECA to allow us to exchange information accurately to help customers at their time of need is really, really important,” said Brower. “I'm honored to be a part of the CIECA organization and really appreciate the industry and all that you do for consumers to help them get their cars repaired properly and pleased to play a small role in that.”
The final CIECA award was for the 2023 Electronic Commerce Company of the Year, which recognizes the company that contributes the most through its employees, resources and dedication to help CIECA achieve its mission, objectives and goals.
OEC received this honor and Ken Eagleson, OEC’s vice president of business development and a CIECA board member, was recognized for his dedication on behalf of the company.
“The company chosen this year has supported CIECA and its mission in many ways,” said Best. “In addition to active representation on the Board of Trustees, company members greatly assisted with planning the CONNEX Conference.”
SCRS
SCRS Chair Amber Alley, manager of Barsotti’s Body & Fender, noted how special the event was, how “deserving everyone has been, and what a great opportunity it was to get such beautiful people with so much to offer together and acknowledge their accomplishments.”
SCRS board members Tony Adams, business services consultant for AkzoNobel, and Andy Tylka, owner of TAG Auto Group, presented the 2023 Affiliate Association Award, given to an affiliate association that displays exemplary actions of leadership and helps to lift the collision repair professional in their state. It has only been given out seven other times.
This year, the recipient was the Auto Body Association of Texas, accepted by Tuggle.
“This year's recipient has really demonstrated exceptional leadership in their state and their activity in advocating for legislation, specifically the work they do to work with lawmakers to make sure that they understand the issues that are happening in their state and how they're impacting consumers,” noted Adams.
“The person accepting this award for the organization is selfless,” added Tylka. “She a progressive thinker. She encourages people to learn from what they're doing.”
“I've been in this industry for a long time…it has been a pleasure to me to fight the good fight and to be there and represent the small guys and the independent shops and really just be here not for a paycheck or to sell a product, but to do what's good for this industry and the empty chair,” said Tuggle. “That is what those associations represent every single day.”
Michael Bradshaw, vice president of K & M Collision, awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award to the late John Mosley, owner of Clinton Body Shop. The award is designed to recognize people who have given generously to the aid of their industry nationwide.
“He was as genuine an individual you'll ever meet in your life,” said Bradshaw. “He cared deeply about everyone else, and he was always someone who put others’ needs before his.”
Bradshaw said Mosley was constantly standing up for consumers and was believed in political action, spending countless hours traveling to D.C. to meet with Congress. One of those efforts spurred the preservation of the 1963 Consent Decree.
Burl Richards, owner of Burl’s Collision Center, accepted the award on his behalf and shared some thoughts from Mosley’s family.
“Thank you all for honoring our husband and father with this Lifetime Achievement Award. John was a one-of-a-kind person," Richards said. "He always believed in standing up for what was right, even if it meant standing alone. He was a man of many accomplishments, and each one, no matter how small or large, was just as important as the other.”
Schulenburg, of SCRS, and Barry Dorn, vice president of Dorn’s Body and Paint, presented the final award of the evening, the 2023 March Taylor Kina’ole Award. The award honors the legacy and lessons of the late March Taylor, who owned Auto Body Hawaii and served on the SCRS Board of Directors.
Schulenburg said the award represents the spirit of Kina’ole, a Hawaiian word for flawlessness in the sense of “doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, to the right person, for the right reason, with the right feeling, the first time."
The award was presented to Kye Yeung, owner of European Motor Car Works.
“This award is about folks that truly shine a light on all of us…whether or not they intend to,” said Dorn. “I remember the first time I met Kai was through March at his beautiful store and it truly amazed me what he does, how he does things with his family, and his certifications.”
When Dorn talked to Yeung about joining SCRS, Yeung hesitated and said that he didn’t feel ready.
“One of the most remarkable moments is when there's somebody who everyone around a board table knows is the right person to come sit beside it,” said Schulenburg. “It’s common that that person just doesn't believe they belong there because they look at all the greatness in everyone else, and sometimes, they fail to recognize it is within themselves."
Schulenburg said Yeung has gone above and beyond since being part of SCRS.
“The success that that I feel in accomplishing this is because of the friends around the table,” said Yeung. “Thank you so much. I'm so proud to be part of this.”
Stacey Phillips Ronak