COVER STORY

Dedication through the Decades: Celebrating Outgoing Executive Director Judell Anderson

The automotive community is filled with memorable people, but few manage to leave a greater mark than longtime AASP-MN Executive Director Judell Anderson, who will retire at year’s end after 25 years and nine months of dedicated service to the association.

Way back in 1996, Anderson replied to a newspaper ad placed by what was then ASA-MN in search of an executive director. Although she already had an appreciation for cars (her first set of wheels was a 1970 Camaro), she had no working knowledge of the repair/service industry at the time; however, she had extensive past experience in association management, which set the foundation for her next quarter century at the helm of one of the industry’s most active and accomplished state groups.

“Successfully managing an association takes a different skillset than being a good shop owner, service advisor or insurance agent,” she says. “There’s a core body of knowledge and best practices necessary to run a successful association, and I think that’s what I brought to the table and what is reflected in our uniqueness.”

Anderson’s commitment to bettering the state’s automotive industry has left an indelible impression on current AASP-MN President Tom Archambault.

“Everything that goes on in the association is a testament to Judell’s hard work. We’re not an easy group to corral and get to do things, but she’s done a very good job of keeping us on task and on target.”

Past AASP-MN President Dale Feste, who was among the Board members responsible for Anderson’s hiring back in ’96, echoes Archambault’s praise.

“Judell understood and articulated that any good association needs good structure. She forced us to look at bylaws, the mission statement, our code of ethics, member commitments and those things. Building a firm foundation to go ahead was clearly one of her strengths.”

Feste credits Anderson for moving the association forward in exciting new ways through a host of initiatives, including (but not limited to) public relations programs, fundraisers and years-long involvement in Lights on for Safety events. He also recalls the great success that came via Anderson’s idea to host special go-kart events for members to raise funds for scholarships for post-secondary automotive students. In addition to broadening AASP-MN’s image and capabilities, these activities resulted in incredibly high member retention and engagement.

“I really believe that her greatest strength over 25 years has been her ability to tap into association members. She has a very open, friendly, accessible manner, and she used that very successfully. She has built a culture that’s been positive throughout the membership.”

AASP-MN Office Manager Jodi Pillsbury, who has spent 25 of her 31 years with the association working alongside Anderson every day, has nothing but fond words to share about her longtime colleague.

“Judell is a hard-working, intelligent and extremely charismatic person. Over the past 25-plus years, I’ve watched her lead this association in many successful endeavors – from Lights on for Safety and Get to Know Your Neighborhood Auto Repair Pro to the Race for Automotive Education and the creation of Minnesota Careers in Automotive Repair and Service [MNCARS], just to name a few. She always has a ‘can-do’ attitude and tackles even the most difficult tasks head on. With her knowledge and experience in association management, we were able to develop and implement policies and procedures over the years that were nonexistent before. Today, every facet of the association is streamlined. We have checklists for this and calendars for that, and they all take the guesswork out of the what, when and how we do things.

“Judell has something special about her that can’t be taught in a classroom or learned by others,” she adds. “It’s been a pleasure to watch and learn from her as she grew in her role as executive director. She has been a great mentor to me and many others throughout her career. I wish her all the best in her retirement. She deserves it!”

Looking back, Anderson cites MNCARS and the Get to Know Your Neighborhood Auto Repair Pro campaign as two of the brightest moments during her time with AASP-MN:

“MNCARS is responsive to a critical need within the industry and was created from scratch – nothing like it existed. The whole thing is pretty impressive, if I do say so myself! And the Get to Know Your Neighborhood Auto Repair Pro program is a unique association undertaking to publicly promote the benefits of doing business with independent auto repair shops. Both of those initiatives came about from listening to members seated around the conference room table and then coming up with a plan to respond. That taps into the association’s greatest strength – the members themselves!”

One of Anderson’s last acts as executive director? Launching an initiative to raise $200,000 to keep MNCARS going for the next three years. Archambault is grateful that she displayed such dedication even as she wound down her career.

“That speaks a lot to her character. Anybody could just walk away and say, ‘I’m retiring. I’ve worked hard; let the next person worry about it.’ But not her; she gave it her all right until the very end.”

Of course, consistent action in the legislative arena was another huge part of Anderson’s industry career. During her tenure, AASP-MN succeeded in strengthening anti-steering measures and prompting lawmakers to establish the following as unfair claims practices:

• Adjusting a damage appraisal of a repair shop when the extent of damage is in dispute without

conducting a physical inspection of the vehicle. • Specifying the use of a particular vendor for the procurement of parts or other materials necessary for the satisfactory repair of the vehicle. (This clause does not require the insurer to pay more than a reasonable market price for parts of like kind and quality in adjusting a claim.) • Unilaterally and arbitrarily disregarding a repair operation or cost identified by an estimating system, which an insurer and collision repair facility have agreed to utilize in determining the cost of repair.

Another big win for collision repairers was AASP-MN’s work to allow shops to charge and collect sales tax on paint and materials at the retail level instead of paying it at wholesale prices and not being able to recoup the money. On the regulatory side, the association’s positive working relationship with the MN Pollution Control Agency and Department of Commerce has yielded considerable wins for member businesses.

Anderson believes these accomplishments speak to AASPMN’s ability to effect change on the state level on behalf of its members.

“We’re the industry’s voice – nobody else is there to look after them! I would hate to think about what the business landscape might look like for members if not for our watchdogging and proactive advocacy on their behalf.”

Naturally, Anderson has had the privilege of knowing several amazing people in the industry over the years, but a memorable experience with one AASP-MN member in particular stands out most for her.

“Hands down, the moment that’s most seared in my memory is when Roger Bonn, former owner of Peter’s Body Shop in St. Cloud, sat down in my office and told me of his intent to donate a custom motorcycle to the association – the proceeds of which could be utilized as the Board of Directors saw fit. His words were something along the lines of, ‘This association has done so much for me. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it, and this is something I can do to give back.’ It was the most gratifying feeling to hear and see tangibly how our work makes a difference for members. We went on to raffle the bike and raised over $40,000 for MNCARS. How awesome is that?!”

Considering her long history with industry folks in and out of Minnesota, who are some other people who’ve made a major impact on her?

“I don’t want to get into naming individual people, because there are simply too many, and I’d have to leave somebody out!” she replies. “However, I’ll make one exception to that and give a shout-out to the staff that I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the years: Kevin Walli, Tom Kluver, Greg Olsen and, most importantly, Jodi Pillsbury. It was a pleasure and honor to work with them all.”

Although Anderson had already considered retiring around the 25-year mark, the pandemic prompted her to make the decision final.

“With how COVID-19 changed everything, I felt that it was a lost year that is now becoming a lost two years when it comes to a lot of things I want to do, particularly with travel. I love traveling and learning about new people and cultures, and that was taken away from me. I feel like I’m behind; I have some catching up to do. That kind of sealed the deal that now was the right time.” This “catching up” will include attending the New Orleans Jazz Festival this coming April and a long-delayed trip to Spain in the fall of 2022. Best of all, she is now able to spend more time with her recently-retired husband, Rick, who plans to turn his passion for art into a full-time endeavor. After an 18-year partnership, the happy couple tied the knot last October. Their family includes four children from prior relationships and seven grandchildren. Nearly 26 years after answering that newspaper ad, Anderson remains incredibly proud of her life with AASP-MN. “They were all just good people, so I wanted to do right by them. It was always a good fit for me in terms of personalities. I was never intimidated about being the only woman in a roomful of men. Sometimes, I think my approach to things is more in line with the general stereotype of how a male might address things – ‘Let’s get the job done and move on. Let’s just do the work that needs to be done and have a good time doing it.’ I never felt I had to compromise my values to represent these guys.”

“I will definitely miss Judell’s leadership,” Archambault says. “She listened to the voice of the people and then did what the people asked. Oftentimes, someone will think the leader comes up with the vision and the plan, and everybody just follows them. But truly, a leader is somebody who listens and then helps guide the group so that everybody can move as one.”

Judell Anderson attended countless meetings and events during her time with AASP-MN.