Ed. Foundation Raises $300K through Record-Setting Dallas Expo

Sept. 19, 2014

Sept. 19, 2014—The Collision Repair Education Foundation announced on Friday that its inaugural Cars, Careers & Celebrities Expo helped raise more than $300,000 for scholarships, grants, and instructor support for collision repair students and education programs.

The event, which was hosted by the Van Tuyl Group Aug. 16 in Dallas, is the largest fundraiser in the Education Foundation’s history.

“I believe this event will be seen as a significant milestone in the Education Foundation’s history as it will be the first major effort for the organization to expand out from not only providing support to the future professionals of the industry but also helping to connect students with industry employers,” said Education Foundation Executive Director Clark Plucinski. “I would like to extend my thanks to not only all of our event sponsors and volunteers, but also the entire Van Tuyl Group staff who shut down their 55,000-square-foot Team Vandergriff repair facility and made this event possible. We look forward to following up with participating expo industry businesses and assisting with fulfilling their entry-level employment needs with the hope that we can expand this type of event across the country.”

The event focused on “elevating awareness for careers in the collision industry by convening marketplace leaders who will showcase today’s dynamic careers available to the next generation of collision industry professionals,” according to the Education Foundation’s website.

Activities will included an industry trade show, National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides vehicle presentation, silent auction/raffle table, product demonstrations, and industry career awareness opportunities for local high school and college collision students.

Also, industry celebrities Charley Hutton of Charley Hutton’s Color Studio and KC Mathieu of Gas Monkey Garage attended the event and spent time with the attending collision students.

Sponsors of the event included:

  • Diamond Level Sponsors ($25,000): 3M, AudaExplore/Hollander, Chief Automotive Technologies, Dent Zone/PDR Links, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Hertz, PPG Automotive Refinish, Pro Spot, Service King Collision Repair Centers, and Van Tuyl Group.
  • Gold Level Sponsors ($10,000): 1-800 Radiator, ABRA Auto Body & Glass, Caliber Collision, English Color/Equipment, Garmat USA, and Gerber Collision & Glass.
  • Silver Sponsors ($5000): AkzoNobel, FinishMaster Inc., Single Source, and TenPoint Complete
  • Bronze Sponsors ($2500): AAMStraining.com, Axalta Coatings, Car-O-Liner, Car-Part.com, CCC Information Services, Clip Lizard, GEICO, Goliath Carts, Herb’s Paint & Body, Innovative Tools, Kaeser Compressors, Kent Automotive, LKQ Corp., Matrix Wand 3D Blueprinting, National Autobody Parts, NITROHEAT, Overall Parts Solutions, Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes, TOFF Sprayed-On Bedliners, Wheel Technologies, and Zak/Nexemo.
  • Friends of the Foundation: Assured Performance, Automotive Service Association (ASA), Ben’s Paint Supply, Color Vision, Fayetteville Technical Community College, I-CAR, My Repair Tracker, Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology, Society of Collision Repair Specialists, USAA Insurance, and Women’s Industry Network (WIN).

Questions about the event can be directed to Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode at 847.463.5244.

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