TOYOTA OFG RANDR APIDS TOYOTA OF GRAND RAPIDS

Midwest Associations
Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware,
who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of
NASCAR fans. She can be contacted at [email protected].
New ASA Affiliate in IN Moves Forward in 2015
with Chasidy Rae Sisk
In December 2014, the Automotive
Service Association (ASA) announced
the addition of a new affiliate in southern Indiana (ASA-IN/Evansville). Over
55 people attended the inaugural meeting which was held on December 9 at
Ivy Tech Community College, including several instructors and students
from the school. Dan Risley, President
of ASA-National, is excited about the
addition of the association’s 14th affiliate chapter: “The addition of this Indiana affiliate is significant. Quite frankly,
there was a hole in the middle of the
Midwest since we have affiliates in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri and
Iowa. As ASA continues to grow in
strength and size, we are continually
seeking new affiliates to increase our
presence, especially in areas where we
don’t have an affiliate. What makes
ASA unique, as compared to other national associations, is that if you are a
member of an ASA affiliate, you are required to be a dues-paying member of
ASA-National. The importance of ASA
affiliates is really simple; ASA affiliates
are the foundation of our house. When
they are strong, so is ASA-National. We
will be aggressively pursuing new affiliates in 2015.”
Risley is grateful to Vernie and
Barb Menke of Menke’s Automotive Repair in Newburgh IN, stating
“without their participation, time and
effort, this would not have happened.”
Vernie Menke has been on ASANational’s Board since 2010, and he
explains that ASA-IN was formed to
“help move the automotive repair industry in IN forward. We see a lot of
shops falling behind in terms of training and technology, and that can lead
to them going out of business. This
struggle caught the attention of Jasper
Engines & Transmissions and NAPA
Auto Parts who reached out to us
about starting an affiliate chapter of
ASA. They’ve really stepped up to
help with this, and we are very thank-
ful for these two sponsors and their
dedication to our industry.”
Shortly after joining ASA, the
Menkes attended the association’s national convention, and that really
helped reinforce the value of belonging to the association. “Barb and I
took 18 classes between us that week
and saw how great ASA really is. It
seems like the elite shops of the nation
belong to ASA, and we’ve met a lot of
super sharp people who’ve really
helped us move our business forward.
We’re hoping that ASA-IN will yield
similar results for other shops in IN.”
ASA-IN debuted in Evansville, in
the southern part of the state, and 29
shops have already joined the affiliate.
Menke feels “blessed at the amount of
interest that’s been expressed so
quickly,” but like most ASA affiliates,
ASA-IN is already looking forward to
expanding. In February, the association will hold a meeting near Indianapolis, in the northern part of the
state, and they hope Risley will return
to help promote this second chapter of
ASA-IN.
Jasper Engines and NAPA are already doing their part to promote the
northern chapter. According to Menke,
“representatives from our sponsors
have been diligently promoting our
meetings to their local customers.
They realize that what benefits our industry also benefits them; if all these
shops go out of business, who will buy
their parts?”
ASA-IN/Evansville has schedule
their next meeting for January 20 at
Ivy Tech, and invitations have been extended to owners, managers, service
advisors and technicians. After dinner,
attendees will separate into two groups
for roundtable discussions. Chris
Coffman of Ivy Tech will lead the
technicians’ roundtable, while owners,
managers and service advisors will
gather for a roundtable under the guid-
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Collision Avoidance
These include several of the
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such as the Pre-Collision System
that helps prevent and mitigate
collisions; Lane Departure Alert
that helps prevent vehicles from
departing from their lanes; and
Automatic High Beam, helping to
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during nighttime driving. In addition, there is an option for a millimeter-wave radar and camera
that can detect pedestrians and
Radar Cruise Control.
“Toyota’s vision is of a world
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to revolutionize automotive safety,”
said Seigo Kuzumaki, Chief Safety
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Continued from Page 26
New ASA Affiliate
ance of Jasper’s Zach Bawel who will
emphasize the importance of being
willing to make changes. As Menke
says, “if you’re not willing to change,
you can’t move forward.” The meeting will conclude with an hour-long
computer programming class for all
present to help them understand what
equipment is needed and how to use it.
Ivy Tech has agreed to allow
ASA-IN to use two rooms to hold
their training sessions and meetings
over the next few years. In exchange,
the affiliate will allow instructors and
students to attend the meetings and
participate in training at no cost. Risley feels that this “relationship with
Ivy Tech is key because partnering
will enhance the school’s vocational
program and encourage new students
to enter the industry.”
Menke explains that “even before ASA-IN was started, Ivy Tech’s
program was struggling, so they asked
Jasper Engines & Transmissions for
help. Zach Bawel at Jasper contacted
me and several other local shops to
get involved with helping the auto
program move forward by helping update their equipment and suggesting
classes. In addition to allowing Ivy
Tech’s staff and students to attend our
meetings, we’ve developed an internship program to train students by allowing them to work in our shops and
experience what really happens in the
field. About ten to 12 shops have
signed up so far, and I think it will be
a win-win for everyone.”
Risley agrees, stating “ASAIN/Evansville can provide the students
with practical experience in member
shops while they’re in school. This will
give them real-life experience before
graduation, and it will enable ASAIN/Evansville members to evaluate the
students as potential employees.”
As ASA-IN continues to grow,
their goal is to help IN shops survive
and to move the industry forward in
their state. This will begin by attracting more active members because,
Menke stresses, “it’s so important to
be involved in this industry. The problem is that 90% of shops live within
their four walls and don’t know what’s
going on. Every industry professional
needs to get involved in the state of the
industry and its future because that’s
how you move forward.”
OSHA Tops 3000 Whistleblower Cases for First Time
A milestone has been reached in federal whistleblower cases, according to
law firm Jackson Lewis PC. OSHA has
investigated more than 3,000 cases in a
fiscal year for the first time ever. It took
on 3,060 cases during FY 2014, 91
(3%) more cases than during FY 2013.
OSHA administers the whistleblower
provisions of 22 federal statutes. OSHA
did not disclose the number of whistleblower complaints it received in 2014
that were rejected after the initial
screening and not investigated. However, a study showed that in cases filed
from 2011 through 2013 under the
whistleblower provision of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act,
only 41% passed the initial screening.
While the reasons for the increase are
not clear, one explanation could be the
elevated media attention given to large
monetary awards and settlements. A
Washington-based attorney who represents whistleblowers told Bloomberg
BNA that punitive damage awards of
$100,000 and more in Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) cases
and new Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) rules have
encouraged drivers to bring claims if
they are told to exceed legal driving
hour limits.
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www.autobodynews.com | FEBRUARY 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS 33