Jan. 4, 2017— Chuck Sulkala, founder, first president, and executive director of the National Auto Body Council (NABC), announced his retirement on Tuesday, effective at the end of 2017.

During Sulkala’s tenure over the past 22 years, the NABC has become the leading voice to highlight the professionalism and integrity of the collision repair industry through community service involvement.

Under his leadership, NABC’s member network of collision industry companies and professionals have united to collaborate on community service programs that help change and save thousands of lives across the country. These include, among others, the introduction of NABC’s Recycled Rides, the First Responder Emergency Extrication (FREE) and fundraising support for the Ronald McDonald Foundation.

“I am humbled to have been a part of the National Auto Body Council history. It is incredible to think that this started out as a conversation with Tim Rooney, formerly with I-CAR, and Scott Biggs, with Body Shop Video at the time,” said Sulkala. “It is amazing to see how it has now become a powerful force in improving the image of the collision repair industry.”