Recipients of the MIW awards:
• Erica Eversman, chief counsel, Vehicle Information Services Inc., Bath, Ohio
• Kimberly Hicks, president, MicroRim, Highland Park, Mich.
• Linda Sommerhauser, owner, Autobody Color Co. Inc., Kansas City
• Beth Meckel, body shop manager, MileOne Collision Center, Glen Burnie, Md.
• Marcy Tieger, managing director, Symphony Advisors, Irvine, Calif.
• Janet Chaney, owner, Cave Creek Business Development, Stevensville, Mt.
The event was held at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, where AkzoNobel’s American operations are headquartered. The previous MIW awards events were held in conjunction with NACE in Las Vegas in the fall, but AkzoNobel decided to change the time and location of the event to coincide with three related industry events going on in Atlanta this week. The Collision Industry Conference and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists both held meetings in Atlanta this week, and the High Museum of Art has an exhibition of classic cars called The Allure of the Automobile. MIW attendees viewed the exhibition as part of the event.
“It was serendipitous to have all three events here at the same time,” said Tim Loden, director of marketing for AkzoNobel Car Refinishes Americas. “We decided to have [MIW] in conjunction [with them].”
AkzoNobel executives have not yet decided whether the company will resume pairing its award ceremony with NACE, or whether it will continue having it at a separate time and location. Either way, the FIT awards will become an annual tradition in the same vein as the MIW awards, said Loden.
“The goal of both programs is to recognize excellence in the industry,” said Loden.
