Mentors At Work Presents the 2006 Mentor of the Year Award

For Immediate Release:
November 13, 2006

Contact:
Mark J. Claypool
Mentors At Work, LLC
Phone 630-762-0614
Toll Free: 888-225-6968
Fax 630-762-0615
mclaypool@mentorsatwork.com

(See what inspired this award below*)
 

Las Vegas, NV – November 10, 2006 – Mentors at Work presented the 2006 Mentor of the Year Award to Doug Kollasch, a veteran technician from 911 Collision Centers in Tucson, Arizona with over 30 years of experience. The award was presented to Kollasch at the Industry Night of Achievement during NACE in Las Vegas.

Kollasch currently leads a team that consists of one “A” tech, and three apprentices. Kollasch oversees 911 Collision Center’s Geico RX program. Together, Kollasch’s team has a year-to-date cycle time of 3.1 days, turn out an average of 57 cars a month and have earned CSI scores in the 98% range.

Mike Quinn and Pat O’Neill, owners of 911 Collision Centers, submitted the nomination. In the nomination, they recognized the work ethic, dedication and pride Kollasch takes in his work. Kollasch is a team player and has the ability to stay on task.

Kollasch’s apprentices describe him as hard working, dedicated and fair. Kollasch has the patience to teach the apprentices in a calm manner while showing appreciation and encouragement for their improvements. He is also able to provide constructive criticism without discouraging their performance. He leads by example and helps keep his apprentices on task. His focus is always on teaching the proper techniques and processes.

Kollasch joins Ron Ratzlaff from 911 Collision Centers who received the Mentor of the Year award in 2005. The review committee has no idea where the nominees are from. “911 Collision Centers is indeed fortunate to have not just one, but at least two outstanding employees who are not only good at what they do from a technical perspective, but also they have the ability to effectively train others on the job,” said Mark Claypool, President and CEO of Mentors at Work

During the Industry Night of Achievement, Claypool and Quinn highlighted some troubling statistics that the collision repair industry needs to pay attention to and do something about. The U.S. Department of Labor projects that there will likely be as many as 10 million more jobs than people to fill them by the year 2010. Over the period of six years, from 1999 to 2005, the collision repair industry lost 21,800 technicians, and only a fraction were replaced by new hires.

“It will be those shops who most effectively mentor new people into this field who will have the competitive edge over the next 5-10 years,” said Claypool. “The work Doug is doing to mentor new apprentices and show them the high quality standards of 911 Collision Centers is exceptionally valuable and I know management appreciates his efforts.”

“Not only should one be able to train and equip tomorrow’s technicians, but they must also believe in a company’s culture and mission,” Quinn says.

Through mentoring new talent, Kollasch is extending his own career by sharing his knowledge with new people and allowing his team to handle some of the demanding physical tasks that perhaps aren’t quite as easy for him any more. “That much knowledge and skill is a terrible asset to waste, but that is exactly what some shops do every day by not calling upon those experienced techs who also have the ability to teach,” added Claypool.

“Once again, as we recognize mentoring in our industry, this is an example of dedication and the above and beyond the normal call of duty efforts that deserves everyone’s recognition for the positive impact these initiatives will have on our industry’s long-term ability to fix cars right and in a timely manner,” Claypool went on to say.

“By presenting this “Mentor Of The Year” Award to Doug, we are able to recognize him for the great job he is doing mentoring others and encourage shop owners and managers to consider building effective mentoring/apprenticeship programs within their own shops. This, in turn, will help our industry meet its critically important long-term skilled labor needs.”

Congratulations Doug Kollasch! If you would like to nominate a candidate for the Mentor of the Year Award, you will have your chance in 2007. Watch for our announcement next year when we begin seeking nominations again.

*The Award Itself…

The Mentor of the Year Award, that is presented each year to the selected nominee, is symbolic in a number of ways. First of all, the award itself is inspired by the monumental structures of ancient Greece, where the word “mentor” originated.

In Homer’s “Odyssey”, set in ancient Greece, Odysseus was preparing for the siege of Troy. Knowing that he would be gone for many months, maybe never to return, Odysseus needed to appoint just the right person to look after his son while he was away. The person he chose for this very important task was a wise and trusted counselor by the name of “Mentor”. Mentor’s name has passed to our language – with a lower case “m” – as a shorthand term for wise and trusted counselor and teacher.

The base of the award represents a strong foundation. A business requires a sturdy foundation upon which to build, not just bricks and mortar, but a foundation of dedicated owners and managers as well, who want to surround themselves with great employees, employees who will truly be their greatest asset.

Next, the pillars represent key employees who are structurally critical to a business. The taller pillar represents the mentor, the shorter pillar represents the apprentice who will grow tall and strong like their mentor some day.

And just like the buildings from ancient Greece that still stand today, centuries later, our goal is for our great employees to stay with us as a part of our team until they retire. Anything worth building should be done right.

The architects, masons and laborers in ancient Greece took great care and used atypical ingenuity to build the magnificent structures that still stand as a monument to their efforts. As business owners, let’s take great care and use atypical ingenuity to build our businesses, putting key people in position as the “pillars” of our own magnificent structures.

Beware of the Trojan horse of your competitors; they lay quietly in wait for you to let your guard down, to capitalize on your weaknesses. Don’t let one of your weaknesses be the lack of skilled workers. Put your wise and trusted mentors to good use. If you don’t have wise and trusted mentors, find some before it’s too late and you are overrun by the competition.

Mentors At Work was founded in 2001 to help the automotive industry be successful in building successful apprenticeship and occupational mentoring programs. Mentors at Work’s clients include 911 Collision Centers, DCR Systems and True2Form, as well as a number of independents and several clients outside of the automotive industry. Business partners include Sherwin-Williams, Akzo Nobel, and the DuPont Performance Alliance. Mentors At Work is headquartered just outside Chicago in St. Charles, Illinois and also has offices in Overland Park, Kansas and Alexandria, Virginia. For more information, go to the web at www.mentorsatwork.com, call toll free 888-225-6968 or e-mail info@mentorsatwork.com.

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