A Dream Come True: Auto Students Bring Joy to Kidnapping Survivor

Back in 2003, Troy Berry couldn’t wait to gift his granddaughter, Amanda, his 1986 Monte Carlo SS on her 16th birthday. He and Amanda had spent years bonding while working on the car, which she loved almost as much as she loved him. Tragically, Amanda was kidnapped the day before her birthday and subsequently held captive for an entire decade before finally escaping. The story made national headlines and put Amanda in the media spotlight, but she was just excited to be back with her loved ones and have an opportunity to continue working on the car. Sadly, Troy was soon diagnosed with dementia; as a result, he struggled to remember Amanda before he passed away. Despite losing her beloved partner in car restoration, she kept the Monte Carlo, which by that time was in a greatly deteriorated state. Fortunately, collision repair students at Max S. Hayes High School in Cleveland would not let the vehicle fade into history. MGM SUPPLIES AD_NJA0720.qxp_Layout 1 6/23/20 2:00 PM Page 1 Under the guidance of auto body instructor Greg Boykin, dozens of students put in hundreds of hours – including on Saturdays – to fully restore the vehicle as per I-CAR standards. Although the Monte Carlo was ready to be revealed by early 2020, the class’ planned unveiling at the Summit Racing Equipment I-X Piston Powered Auto-Rama that March was shelved in light of COVID-19. Thanks to the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF), the revamped Monte Carlo was finally unveiled publicly for the first time during a special ceremony at the July Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Cleveland.

Appearing on stage prior to seeing the upgraded Monte Carlo, Amanda expressed her deep appreciation for every student who gave of themselves to provide this special gift. “First and foremost, thank you to my grandfather, who’s now in Heaven. He’s watching down, and he watched all of you guys do all the hard work. For that, I’ll be forever grateful and thankful. This is a dream come true that I actually didn’t think would ever come true.”

NJA

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