Monday, October 13, 2014

WE CARE Advisory Board Founded to Help Women Achieve Excellence in the Auto Repair Industry



At the Management Success! Fall Convention in Universal City, female automotive professionals from around the country launched WE CARE - Women’s Excellence, Careers in Auto Repair Equality - an advisory board that will work to raise awareness of the auto repair industry as a viable career path for young women as well as men.



According to Kate Jonasse, owner of K-Tech Automotive, “The automotive industry offers numerous opportunities for young people, including women. Mechanics aren’t ‘grease monkeys’ anymore. They are akin to engineers or doctors in the skill level required to diagnose and repair the modern automobile. The goal of WE CARE is to steer people toward the automotive repair industry as a viable career option, not only because there is a real need for qualified auto technicians in the U.S., but also because auto repair jobs are often lucrative, without requiring years of college and the debt that comes along with it.”



Along with Kate, the founding members of the group are Debbi Jennerjohn of Ultimate Truck Service, Lacee Cunningham of Eureka Brake & Automotive, Lynda Archer of Aardvark Automotive, Nancy Knight of Knight’s Automotive, Lynnetta Rogers of 2nd-to-None Service, Tess McKenzie of Top Shop Automotive, Stacy Conner of Equipment Experts, Jackie Halvorson of Narvi’s Auto Service, Tracey Cardono D’Addario of D’Addario Auto Service, and Michelle Jordan of Ricky Jordan’s Auto Repair.



The women of WE CARE hope to serve as mentors and advisors for young people who may never have considered auto repair as a career path. In the words of Stacy Conner, “I believe the WE CARE group is poised to make a real difference in how people perceive the automotive repair field. As more qualified and able people are attracted to careers in auto repair, we can help them get connected with shops that are hiring.” Lacee Cunningham of Eureka Brake & Automotive, Inc. commented, “It is an honor to be part of a group of powerful businesswomen who are dedicated to helping others by offering up their resources for career opportunity, training, and ideas.”



For more information about the WE CARE Advisory Board, please visit our website, wecareadvisory.org, or call Management Success! at (818) 500-9631.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Seven Shops Awarded Top Honors at Management Success! Masters Convention

Management Success! held its semi-annual Masters Convention at the Hilton Hotel in Universal City, CA from September 26-28. Over 120 shops attended the convention for three days of meetings, advanced workshops, panel discussions, parties, and an awards banquet where seven shops were honored for achieving the Master of Shop Management Award.

Our new Masters are Tom Cummings of Stack’s Auto Service, Joe and Lori Fenski of Fenski Automotive, Jim Krell of K-O Automotive, Shawn and Donna Fitzjarrald of Reliable Professional Maintenance, Dave and Debbie Jennerjohn of Ultimate Truck Service, Mike Hines of Bonded Transmission, and Kate Jonasse of K-Tech Automotive, the first solely-owned and operated female shop to achieve Master status.

"The Management Success! Master of Shop Management Award is unique in the industry. It requires more than the successful completion of classes and workshops on management. It requires apprenticeships and demonstrations of application and know-how with a rigorous verification process of on-site shop inspections, proof by profit and loss statements, and the shop hitting and maintaining stiff sales and production benchmarks for three months leading up to the convention. We are very proud of all of these folks.” –Mandee Bradshaw, VP of Production at Management Success!

The next Masters Convention will take place in New Orleans in March 2015. For more information on Management Success! or the Masters Convention, please contact Morgan Scott at morgan.scott@managementsuccess.com.

Management Success