SkillsUSA, SCRS and the SEMA Show Provide Amazing Opportunity for North Carolina High School Instructor

Prosser, Washington, August 21, 2014 - The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) mission focuses association efforts on educating, informing and representing the collision repair professional. As part of that focus, SCRS values the importance of supporting programs that foster increased skill from our future workforce; promoting students and vocational institutions to strive to be recognized for their skill and aptitude in the collision repair trade. SCRS has coordinated with SkillsUSA for a number of years to demonstrate the industry's support and encouragement to the student competitors and their dedicated advisors who have worked to develop the skillsets demonstrated by these future industry members.

 

As part of the support, SCRS provided a Mega-Prize which was awarded for thethird year at the 100% Advisor Reception this past June. The highly sought after prize package, donated by SCRS and the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), included an expenses-paid trip for two to attend the SEMA Show. The package included: two VISA gift cards for airline expenses, two hotel rooms, two passes into the 2014 SEMA Show, and two full-series passes to the SCRS Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series.

Automotive Instructor Sandy Martin of Starmount High School in Boonville, North Carolina was the winning advisor who had joked only minutes before the winning announcement that his friends could give up because he would be the lucky recipient. "I've never won anything before," shared Martin. "I was just kidding around and then it became real! I've read all about the work SCRS is doing at SEMA, and I've seen the Show on TV and in all sorts of magazines. I've always wanted to go, but never thought that I would have the opportunity to attend it. This is such a great opportunity to take in and be able to bring back to my kids this year. I'm speechless with gratitude. SkillsUSA is such a rewarding program to even be able to participate in, and then to walk away with more opportunities like this; it's just indescribable."

In addition to the Mega-Prize, all student competitors and sponsoring schools will be receiving a complimentary one year membership to SCRS so that they can remain connected to the ongoing activities within the industry.

"SkillsUSA is so very appreciative of the support of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists in awarding this outstanding opportunity to one of our collision repair technology instructors," said Executive Director of SkillsUSA Tim Lawrence. "Because of SCRS, this teacher will gain knowledge and updates directly from the industry that would be challenging to attain at the local school level. Updating our instructors is of paramount importance to SkillsUSA as we depend heavily on our industry partners to guide instruction, use of technology and the latest techniques used in the field for our school training programs. Industry partnerships are truly the lifeblood of SkillsUSA and how we keep our programs, competitions, classrooms and labs in line with real world needs and SCRS stands tall in making this process a reality."

"It's an honor to know through our prize package with SCRS that we can help expose these advisors - and subsequently their students - to the latest and greatest the automotive and collision repair industries have to offer," added VP, Events and Communications for SEMA Peter MacGillivray. "There is an amazing world of opportunities in this industry, and the more we can do to help advisors see them first-hand, the better equipped they are to develop students' interest in the automotive field."

"Being involved to support the SkillsUSA program, and feeling the enthusiasm and excitement from everyone involved just gives me so much hope for our industry," added SCRS National Director and veteran SkillsUSA volunteer Kye Yeung. "It is such an amazing forum for students to showcase their achievements, and for advisors to promote their best and brightest. I'm proud to be part of an event that harnesses both the competition and comradery that stems from partnering industry, advisors and students. I've said it before, and I continue to believe that if repair facilities think there is a shortage of quality entry-level technicians in this industry, they need to be at the SkillsUSA competitions and support everyone working to ensure a skilled future workforce in America!"

For other collision repair instructors who have an interested in attending and participating in SCRS' Repairer Driven Education  series at the SEMA Show, the association has partnered with the Show to offer educators a significantly discounted full-series pass to the education programs. Qualified educators who make arrangements directly through Juliet Marshall, Education Administrator for SEMA, at Julietm@sema.org will receive full access to all SCRS RDE regular sessions for only $50.00. Admission into SCRS' OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit will also be discounted to $50.00 as well.

Non-education attendees interested in learning more about the RDE series at the SEMA Show can visit  www.semashow.com/scrs for more information, and to register for sessions. 

About SEMA and the SEMA Show: The SEMA Show is a trade show produced by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), a nonprofit trade association founded in 1963. Since the first SEMA Show debuted in 1967, the annual event has served as the leading venue bringing together manufacturers and buyers within the automotive specialty equipment industry. Products featured at the SEMA Show include those that enhance the styling, functionality, comfort, convenience and safety of cars and trucks. Additional details available at www.semashow.com or www.sema.org, (909) 396-0289.

About SCRS' RDE Series: REPAIRER DRIVEN EDUCATION (RDE) series will feature 4 days of seminar offerings, many of which are uniquely designed and being offered only at the 2014 SEMA Show. Each of the courses has been individually selected or crafted by SCRS because the content specifically focuses on information that is relevant to the diverse array of marketplace perspectives within the collision repair industry. Register at www.semashow.com/scrs.

About SCRS: Through its direct members and 43 affiliate associations, SCRS is comprised of 6,000 collision repair businesses and 58,500 specialized professionals who work with consumers and insurance companies to repair collision-damaged vehicles. Additional information about SCRS including other news releases is available at the SCRS website: www.scrs.com. You can e-mail SCRS at the following address: info@scrs.com.