Women’s Conference Names Chairwomen and Committee to Continue Success!

For Immediate Release:
May 9, 2006

First event of its kind makes bold,
innovative statement in collision industry.

May 8, 2006, Carefree, AZ – Collision Industry Women’s Conference announced today the results of its first retreat held, May 4 - 7. Based on the overwhelming success of their gathering, the Women’s Conference will continue as an entity focusing on empowering industry women with future events. Geri Kottschade of Jerry's Body Shop, Inc, Mankato, MN, and Kathy Mello, of TGIF Collision in Fremont, CA, were elected as co-chairwomen to spearhead the group’s future efforts. In addition, five other collision industry women professionals were elected as group leaders to form the steering committee: Sharon Brennan, Hassell Auto Body, West Babylon, NY; Jaime Angell, Bear Creek Auto Body, Denver, CO; Jeanette Guthrie, J&D, Lodi, CA; Katie Gallegos, Russo's Body Shop, Watsonville, CA; and Linda Perry, Baron Von Frier, Berkeley, CA.

The first “women only” Collision Industry event was designed to bring professional women to the forefront of the collision industry and nurture their contributions. By all accounts it was a huge success according to all attendees. The retreat and conference was held in Scottsdale-Carefree, Arizona under ideal weather conditions. The conference featured three days of intense workshops and networking with mostly women speakers addressing Industry Trends and Strategies, Six Sigma, Lean Production, Marketing and Sales, and Human Resource issues.

The First Collision Industry Women’s Conference was launched and hosted by Assured Performance Co-op Network, and sponsored by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 3M Automotive, FinishMaster, Mitchell International, and 1-800 Radiator. The event was open to all industry women and the attendance filled all available room-block space of the resort hotel!

Geralyn Kottschade of Jerry's Body Shop, Inc, Mankato, MN, commented, “It was even better than anticipated. I needed to be inspired again, and I was. The event was a major step forward for women of the collision industry and a fantastic opportunity to empower a new source of leaders!” Kathy Mello added, “This amazing event was just the first of what will now be an ongoing effort. We welcome other women to join in and be a part of the future.”

The women’s conference will continue as an entity focusing on empowering Industry Professional Women and improvement in such areas as skill set, communication, relationships, customer service, and to invite more women into the talent pool of our industry. Now others can join the movement by registering online at: CollisionIndustryWomen.com or call Assured Performance Network at 949-221-0088 X: 223.

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