Save the date as the Tennessee Collision Repairers Association’s Music City Collision Conference returns from Aug. 13-15 in Nashville, Tennessee. This year’s conference will take place at The Inn at Opryland. 

The conference features a slate of educational sessions featuring industry experts including Tony Adams of LeadersWay, Joel Boyce of AkzoNobel, Dave Luehr of Dave Luehr’s Elite Body Shop Solutions, Jeff Oldennettel of Collision Advice, Mark Olson of Future Forensics, and James Anderson of Tractable. The panel discussion at the end of the conference will discuss the topics attendees want to hear about most, which they can vote on by using a QR code. 

“There will be a QR code, and we’ll pick four topics, and [attendees will] pick the one they want to talk about,” Executive Director Ementi Coary said. “The two that most people want, that’s what the panel discussion will be on. We'll have Dave Luehr, our [TCRA] lobbyist, and Tony Adams [of LeadersWay] up there. We’ll have a good opportunity for shops to just ask questions on top of what we do.” 

Aug. 13 opens the festivities with the TCRA Top Golf Fundraiser at 500 Cowan St., from 3-6 p.m. CT. The goal is to raise more than $2,000 to give back to educational incentives in Tennessee. Friday kicks off two days of educational sessions and presentations with a full day workshop featuring Oldennettel will discuss a proven approach to writing a safe and proper repair plan, including conducting OE safety inspections, steering column inspections, seat belt inspections, and more. Attendees will also learn the critical role of ADAS calibrations in ensuring vehicle safety and OEM compliance, including how to identify when calibrations are required and properly document them within the estimate.

The session runs from 8:20 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT. Following the session, vendors will have booths available until 6 p.m. and then a happy hour social networking event from 6-8 p.m.

On Saturday, Aug. 15., a full schdule of sessions runs throughout the day: 

• 9-10:15 a.m.                       

• 10:30-11:45 a.m.        

• 1-2:15pm 

• 2:30 p.m. Panel Discussion 

The first and third sessions of each day will feature the same options. Coary said this is an adaptation to feedback from other events.

“One of the things I find is people will come and want to see two speakers, but they presented at the same time,” he said. “We took what we figured would be our top speakers and repeated them, so after lunch they can go possibly see another one.

Registration for attendees and vendors is open now. Vendors can register until a week before the conference, but there is a max of 25.

“I want good interactions. I don’t just want a bunch of people going through and not seeing anybody,” Coary said. “If the [number of] vendors are small, they’ll have better interaction. I’m trying to keep this as a conference, not a trade show.”

The conference is made possible in part to its two platinum sponsors Pro Spot and Blue Ridge Color Company. Discounted hotel rates are available until Thursday, July 16. For more information or to register, click here.