Showcase Your Skills at the Inaugural Bodywork Bowl!

Calling all competitive collision professionals – or essentially calling ALL collision professionals because what body technician, estimator or painter doesn’t believe he or she is the best?!

Well, now’s your chance to prove it at the inaugural Bodywork Bowl Collision Repair Skills Competition, taking place on the trade show floor at NORTHEAST® 2023 on Saturday, March 18. Compete against your industry peers in one of the competition’s three categories: estimating, painting or welding for a chance to take home a $500 cash prize!

AASP/NJ President Jerry McNee looks forward to the show every year, but his excitement for the debut of AASP/NJ’s Bodywork Bowl is palpable.

“NORTHEAST is at the top of my list when it comes to industry events, and this competition gives us a chance to recognize the collision professionals who roll up their sleeves and get down to business every day in the shops, welding, painting and writing estimates. Their skills deserve to be celebrated, and this chance to compete against their peers allows us to do exactly that!

“I’m grateful to my good friend, Burl Richards and the Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT) for coming up with this great idea and helping us implement our own version of the competition at NORTHEAST,” he continues. “Associations are all about bringing shops together because there’s strength in numbers, and when multiple groups come together to share ideas and strategies like this, it makes the entire industry better and stronger.”

As McNee mentioned, the idea originated with the Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT) which has held a similar competition the past two years with a lot of success, and AASP/NJ thought it was high time to recognize some of the Garden State’s top talent. To ensure the Bodywork Bowl goes off without a hitch, the association has solicited the aid of ABAT Executive Director Jill Tuggle who graciously agreed to help get the competition off on the right foot.

“These types of competitions provide a great opportunity to recognize talent in the shops, and I’m very excited to see this concept grow outside of our region,” Tuggle shares. “It’s particularly gratifying to see it at NORTHEAST because ABAT has a lot of friends in New Jersey and at Greco Publishing, NORTHEAST event managers. ABAT is happy to partner with other like-minded organizations because we want our industry to have as many successes as possible; we want to win together, and one of the ways we do that is by celebrating the amazing technicians, painters and estimators who work so hard in their facilities every single day. This is the perfect forum to do that, and I can’t wait to see how the Bodywork Bowl grows in 2023 and beyond!” continued from pg. 14 telephone calls or any manner other than personal inspection;

Estimators will demonstrate their skills using CCCsponsored estimating equipment to write off of an estimate originally produced by Collision Advice’s Mike Anderson, through collaboration with CCC. Winners will be selected by a team of judges, including Anderson and Danny Gredinberg of the Database Enhancement Gateway. Painters will test their talents by spraying panels and demonstrating blending techniques with the use of virtual spray booths and guns, sponsored by AkzoNobel, while body techs will apply seam sealer and demonstrate their aptitude for welding on equipment sponsored by Chief Automotive Technologies, Collision Equipment Consulting, Inc., GYS/Chisum USA, Pinnacle Automotive Equipment, Reliable Automotive Equipment, Solidus Equipment and Spanesi Americas. The painting and welding competitions will also be judged by high-profile industry experts who will be announced soon! The winner in each category will receive a $500 monetary prize to take home.

AASP/NJ is grateful to the multiple vendors that have already committed to sponsoring the inaugural Bodywork Bowl, including CCC, AkzoNobel, Chief Automotive Technologies, Collision Equipment Consulting, Inc., GYS/ Chisum USA, Pinnacle Automotive Equipment, Reliable Automotive Equipment, Solidus Equipment and Spanesi Americas.

Register for NORTHEAST at aaspnjnortheast.com now, and stay tuned for the chance to sign up to compete in the very first Bodywork Bowl…if you think you’ve got what it takes!

There is a reason that this restriction against photo estimates was put in the NJ Auto Body License Law. So, how do you deal with it? The short answer is: JUST SAY NO! We will not prepare or accept an estimate based on photos, phone calls or any means, other than personal inspection of the vehicle.

The bottom line is, consumers’ vehicles are stalled in collision shops across the state of New Jersey as a result of the photo estimating process that insurers are attempting to push down the industry’s throat, like it or not, while falsely claiming that the process is expediting the repair process. In reality, the photo estimating process is saving insurers billions of dollars while hindering and delaying the repair process.

Let’s face it: There will likely come a day when the photo estimating process gets perfected and will then actually work. That day simply has not come yet. Therefore, the practice of preparing an estimate on a

AASP/NJ MEMBER PROFILE

continued from pg. 18

Fundamentals, which features his name on the cover.

For two decades, he has mentored and guided many collision and mechanical repair professionals who went on to open their own businesses and achieve much success. During his first few years as an instructor, one of his students brought home the gold medal, taking first place in the New Jersey SkillsUSA competition. That student and many others have “become like family to me.” He’s seen students go on to win awards, get married, open businesses and work for manufacturers.

Unfortunately, today, the interest in the profession isn’t what it used to be.

While there are upsides to retiring – or moving on – in that Magee will have time to ride his Harley, go hunting and maybe travel with his wife, the downside to leaving the school is the fate of the automotive program. Magee fears that the program may not live on the way he ran it after he leaves. Limited interest from young people paired with the school’s focus on careers outside of the trades, including automotive, are cause for concern.

Magee would like to help find someone to take over as the automotive instructor when he retires. Interested parties would likely need ASE certification and automotive experience. Anyone interested can reach out to Magee directly at bobmag922@gmail.com or Bergen County severely damaged vehicle should be stopped immediately and not allowed again until the process gets perfected. In the meantime, AASP/NJ will be watching, and we welcome anyone who would like to report their experience with photo estimates, be it good or bad. Contact me (AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant) via the AASP/NJ Hotline at (732)-922-8909 or via email at Setlit4u@msn.com

Technical School Principal David Tankard at davtan@ bergen.org

As he closes out his career as an educator, he certainly doesn’t plan to leave the automotive world. Another item on his upcoming to-do list is to continue working on his 1940 Ford convertible.

“I’ll be working on my car and all the things I couldn’t do while I was at the school for 12 hours a day. I don’t consider it retiring. I’m moving on.”

HELP WANTED!

Bergen County Technical School is seeking an automotive and collision repair instructor for the 20232024 school year and forward. Ideal candidates should possess extensive automotive experience and an ASE certification at a minimum. Interested parties can reach out to Bob Magee at bobmag922@gmail.com or Bergen County Technical School Principal David Tankard at davtan@bergen.org

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ARANJ Board of Directors

David Yeager - EL & M Auto (800) 624-2266 / elandmauto@aol.com

Ed Silipena - American II Autos (609) 965-0987 / esilipena@yahoo.com

Norm Vachon - Port Murray Auto (908) 689-3152 / portmurrayauto@yahoo.com

Dillon Rinkens - East Brunswick Auto (732) 254-6501 / ebautonj@comcast.net

ARANJ Officers

President - Rodney Krawczyk

Ace Auto Wreckers (732) 254-9816 / aceautonj@comcast.net

1st Vice President - Daryl Carman Lentini Auto Salvage (908) 782-4440 / darryl@las-parts.coms

2nd Vice President - Mike Ronayne Tilghmans Auto Parts (609) 723-7469 / tilghmans@snip.net

Past President - Bob Dirkes Dirkes Used Auto Parts (609) 625-1718 / dirkesauto@gmail.com

The Automotive Recyclers Association of New Jersey