Greetings ASCCA members, partners, and educators,
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. Although it has been a challenging couple of years, we have a lot to be thankful for compared to other professions. I think we now understand, better than ever, the importance of an association like ASCCA. I have learned so much about the necessity of being flexible and open to change. I have gained knowledge through the guidance of ASCCA partners and fellow shop owners during these difficult times.
We had a great November Team Weekend with a lot of participation from passionate ASCCA members, partners, and educators. I believe we were successful in fulfilling the description on the website. "ASCCA Team Weekends allow ASCCA members to exchange ideas with fellow shop owners, network with industry vendors, and build camaraderie with other men and women passionate about automotive repair."
At Team Weekend, we made some exciting announcements! The following members were recognized for their outstanding leadership and presented the following awards:
President’s Award: John Eppstein and Dave Kusa
Excellence Award: Rocky Khamenian
Rising Star Award: Tim Chakarian
Inspirational Leader Award: Angi Roberts
We gave these awards in grateful appreciation for their loyal service and generous contributions. Their creativity and dedication have helped drive this organization to the level that it is today. We all thank them for their outstanding support of ASCCA and the automotive repair industry.
We also were honored to induct the Women's Auxiliary of ASCCA, the "ASCETTES," into the ASCCA Hall of Fame. This group of women laid the foundation for the ASC Educational Foundation and its important work. The Women, wanting to provide scholarships and financial assistance to students wishing to develop a career in the automotive field, began raising money by raffling off handmade quilts. Some 20 years later, the ASCEF has successfully carried forward that mission – but this would not have been possible without the driving force of the ASCETTES.
I want to give special thanks to Glenn Davis of Chapter 5 for bringing the ASCETTES outstanding accomplishments to the attention of the current ASCCA Board of Directors. Glenn does a great job keeping ASCCA's history alive and is passionate about honoring those who greatly deserve recognition for creating this significant association and its foundation.
During the Board of Directors' meeting, we learned many great ideas from our 2022 incoming President Carolyn Coquillette. I know we all felt her enthusiasm for membership growth in 2022!
At Team Weekend, we also learned about the progress of implementing our new association management database software. I know this improvement will help ASCCA to be more efficient and bring more value to our members. This new system will also benefit chapter leadership to receive timely and accurate data to manage locally better.
Remember, Pave Training will be held December 2-5th this year. Don't miss this ultimate training event. PAVE your way to automotive success: Top trainers in technical, management, and collision 55+ live training sessions Easy, downloadable training materials available All sessions available on-demand for 30 days after the event FMI and to register visit: https://pavetraining.com/
I want to thank all of you for making this year great for our association and me!
Remember our Core Purpose:
"To Elevate and Unite Automotive Professionals, and Give Them Voice"
Sincerely,
Rory Balmer
Automotive Service Councils of California
State President 2021
