WMABA PARTNERS WITH CAROLINAS COLLISION ASSOCIATION FOR 2023 SOUTHEAST COLLISION CONFERENCE

NEWS

WMABA PARTNERS WITH CAROLINAS COLLISION ASSOCIATION FOR 2023 SOUTHEAST COLLISION CONFERENCE

WMABA’s mission includes serving “the best interests of collision repairers through leadership, education and initiatives that strengthen the professionalism and business conditions for the professional collision repairer,” and that focus on education and strengthening the industry is what led the association to partner with the Carolinas Collision Association (CCA) to host the second annual Southeast Collision Conference (SCC), scheduled April 14-15, 2023 at the Meadow Event Park (Doswell, VA). “Associations working together for the direct benefit of the collision repairers is exactly what we’re supposed to do,” explains WMABA Executive Director Jordan Hendler. “It’s been a dream of WMABA’s to have a national-level event — with the highest and best education — here in our own territory. Now, here we are teaming up with a great group of dedicated professionals to make that happen. We literally cannot wait for you to come!” “This is our first year teaming up together as associations,” adds CCA Executive Director Josh Kent. “It’s hard to say what will happen in years to come, but our priority is to bring the best the industry has to offer to our region. This tradeshow has already been growing and leaning into the needs of our area shops. When an attendee can hear from multiple experts all in one place, and see for themselves a way to solve a problem they deal with day in and day out, they are grown. They have doors opened for them. Our priority is giving our shops what they need to be better, do better and be more profitable. We’re doing all this for them.”

Hendler hopes that WMABA’s Collision P.R.E.P. (Professional Repairer Education Program) will attract nationallevel educational opportunities to the associations’ local markets.

“We’ve had long-standing relationships with many of the top speakers in our industry, and our goal is to continue that in similar fashion as the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) does with RDE, with our own unique twist on integrating interactive and hands-on experiences for participants. We strive, as does SCRS, to give everyone a premier experience with many takeaways to improve their daily life as a collision repairer. It’s a priority that those who are instructing our participants be on the leading edge of their field.”

Hendler and Kent will capitalize on the relationships they’ve developed over the past decades spent attending national meetings to attract leading industry experts, and their decision to host the event the weekend after the quarterly Collision Industry Conference (CIC) being held in Richmond, VA is certain to ensure many national-level contributors participate in the 2023 SCC.

“This is something WMABA has been pushing for in recent years, to offer a high caliber education in our own region that is informative, and full of up-to-date information like we see with the

widely known SCRS’ Repairer Driven Education in Vegas alongside the SEMA Show,” says WMABA President Steve Krieps. “That’s the bar; and we want to meet it for our repairers here as well as those who’d travel from afar to join in. Shops can come for this two-day event and come out of it changed forever.”

The 2023 SCC promises to deliver two days of educational classes focused on management, estimating and technical topics in addition to offering panel discussions with OEMs and industry leaders.

“Our teams are hard at work on the planning and preparation of a fantastic education program, under the known Collision P.R.E.P., with opportunities for all segments of collision repair,” Hendler promises. “Our Collision P.R.E.P. endeavor has always been about bringing forward national-level education opportunities to the local market.”

But the goal is to move the SCC between regions each year, in an effort to serve as many shops as possible.

“Our associations teaming up together isn’t just a one plus one; it’s an opportunity to multiply our resources to offer a premier event for our entire region, and even the whole country,” CCA President Kyle Bradshaw predicts. “Our shared vision is for this to gather the best national-level education and networking and deliver it in a weekend package. I am excited for the future of the Southeast Collision Conference, next year and beyond.”

The full agenda, complete with participating sponsors and vendors, will be available after SEMA 2022 concludes, according to Hendler. More information about the 2023 SCC will be added to the website as it becomes available.

Stay up to date by visiting southeastcollisionconference.com. Learn more about WMABA at wmaba.com, and additional information about CCA can be found at carolinascollisionassociation.com.

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