I’LL BE BACK!

I wanted to give our Hammer & Dolly readers a little heads up that you’ll be seeing a lot more articles from my talented co-worker, Alana Quartuccio, over the next couple of months. And you might have even had a chance to catch up with her at last month’s Collision Industry Conference (CIC)! I’m usually the one who attends CIC to soak up as much industry knowledge as possible – but my life took a bit of an unexpected turn late last year.

Last September, I took a long-awaited, two-week trip to Italy, and while in Rome, I got one of the biggest surprises of my life….Halfway through my trip, during a tour of the Vatican, I started feeling nauseous. The next day, I had an intense craving for McDonald’s fries. And then I made an unexpected visit to a Farmacia where I learned that I was “incinta” (i.e. pregnant)!

So, by the time you read this, I’ll have given birth to my first baby! I’m super excited at the prospect of welcoming my daughter into the world, but it means that I’ll be a little more focused on her than on the auto body industry this summer. I’ve worked steadily since I was 14 years old, so taking this much time off makes me incredibly nervous and uncomfortable, which is why I want to assure our loyal readers that you can’t get rid of me that easily!

As a matter of fact, you may still see my name occasionally over the next couple months since I’ve been trying to get a few articles geared up for our upcoming editions, like a Shop of the Future Roundtable with insights from several WMABA Board members on page 24.

But we’ve also got some exciting pieces on the way from

Wmaba Officers

PRESIDENT Steven Krieps steve@gregclineauto.com 304-755-1146

VICE PRESIDENT Rodney Bolton boltonconsulting61@gmail.com 443-386-0086

TREASURER Kris Burton kris@rosslynautobody.com 703-820-1800

SECRETARY Phil Rice phil@ricewoods.com 540-846-6617

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Torchy Chandler Torchy Chandler torchy.chandler@gmail.com 410-309-2242

Board Of Directors

Don Beaver (donbeaver3551@gmail.com) 443-235-6668

Barry Dorn (bdorn@dornsbodyandpaint.com) 804-746-3928

Administration

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jordan Hendler (jordanhendler@wmaba.com) 804-789-9649

WMABA CORPORATE OFFICE

P.O. Box 3157 • Mechanicsville, VA 23116

Alana, and you’ll definitely want to tune in next month when she’ll be reporting on her first-ever CIC! I’m sure everyone was as welcoming to her as you’ve always been to me. This industry really is the best, so I admit that I’m a little jealous that Alana got to visit with everyone in Indianapolis, but I’m sure y’all enjoyed getting to know her a little better (and were probably relieved to get a break from me by now)!

In the meantime, I’ll be contending with postpartum recovery, sleepless nights and all the joys of mothering a newborn for the first time. I’m thinking I’ll be grateful to come back to this world pretty soon! H&D

Bill Hawkins (hawkinswilliamjr@gmail.com) 510-915-2283 John Shoemaker (john.a.shoemaker@basf.com) 248-763-4375

HAMMER & DOLLY STAFF

PUBLISHER Thomas Greco thomas@grecopublishing.com

SALES DIRECTOR Alicia Figurelli alicia@grecopublishing.com

EDITORIAL/CREATIVE Alana Quartuccio COORDINATOR alana@grecopublishing.com

MANAGING EDITOR Chasidy Rae Sisk chasidy@grecopublishing.com

OFFICE MANAGER Donna Greco donna@grecopublishing.com

PRODUCTION Joe Greco COORDINATOR joe@grecopublishing.com

@grecopublishing

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Reproduction of any portions of this publication is specifically prohibited without written permission from the publisher. The opinions and ideas appearing in this magazine are not necessarily representations of TGP Inc. or of the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association (WMABA). Copyright © 2023 Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. Stock Images courtesy of istockphoto.com.