Leesburg, Virginia--September 7, 2010--The Women's Industry Network (WIN) has partnered with Automotive Service and Repair Week (ASRW) to sponsor and create this year’s Women's Professional Development Track course offerings. The courses will be offered at the International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE), held in conjunction with ASRW, Oct. 10-13 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

WIN's sponsorship of the education track stems from involvement with ASRW in 2009, said Kim White, WIN chair and district sales manager for FinishMaster. The women’s professional development track was first created in 2007.

"Last year, ASRW asked WIN to assist with one or two of the panels in the women’s track," White said. "After last year's event, ASRW reviewed the track and decided to continue it in 2010. ASRW then partnered with WIN to sponsor and lead the development of the track for this year’s event."

“Women are involved in all aspects of the collision repair industry, and providing education specific to their needs is an important goal of ASRW,” says Bill Haas, ASA vice president of education and training. “The WIN organization is the perfect partner for this track, and we’re pleased to partner with them on what we know will be the highest quality information and education.”

White says the courses, presented by WIN members, will offer information that cannot be found in other ASRW conference sessions and will help build a sense of camaraderie among women in the industry.

"The goal was to provide quality personal and professional development programs that didn't duplicate information shared in other sessions," she said. "In addition, we wanted to reach women new to the industry, as well as encourage others to stay in the industry by building networks that will help their businesses."

Women's Professional Development Track conference sessions include:

• Strategic Benefits of Female Business Ownership--moderated by Margaret Klinsport of Allstate Insurance with panelists Kathy Mello, TGIF Auto Body and Kelly McCarty, Carty’s Collision Center
• Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk: Best Kept Secrets for Success in the Collision Industry (AMI Accredited - 3 credits)--presented by Denise Caspersen, Automotive Service Association, and Gigi Walker, Walker Autobody
• 2010: Year of the Woman Panel Discussion--moderated by Kristen Felder of Collision Hub with panelists Geri Kottschade, Jerry’s Body Shop; Mary Mahoney, Enterprise; Mary Jo Prigge, CCC; and Marcy Tieger, Symphony Advisors.
• Successful Networking Strategies--moderated by Victoria Jankowski of State Farm Insurance with panelists Karen Fierst, KerenOr Consultants; Ruth Weniger, Airbag Solutions; and Liz Stein, Fix Auto
• Developing My Personal Brand--moderated by Stacy Bartnik of CARSTAR with panelists Petra Schroeder, Dupont; Teresa Bolton, ASE; and Jeanne Silver, CARSTAR Mundelein

"After topics were developed, the committee sought people to participate and made a conscious effort to identify and reach out to women who have great information to share, but for one reason or another, have not been on the national stage," White said. "Most, but not all, panelists are WIN members."

The committee that participated in the development of the track included Tieger, Kottschade, Jankowski, Caspersen, Felder and White.

London, England--September 1, 2010--Next year’s International Bodyshop Industry Symposium--IBIS 2011--will take place in Spain from May 16-18, 2011 at the Hotel Arts Barcelona.

The new location and slightly earlier date enables IBIS 2011 to take full advantage of Spain’s reliably superb spring weather.

Research recently carried out by Convention 2020 reveals that in an age of teleconferencing and webinars, face-to-face events such as IBIS, which bring together industry movers and shakers from around the world, are highly valued for their ability to deliver quality networking, the platform they provide to find out about the very latest market developments and the opportunities they offer to spend time with a cross section of the industry’s leading influencers.

The delegate package for IBIS 2011 remains unchanged at £1,650. The package includes two nights accommodation at the Hotel Arts Barcelona, attendance at all IBIS sessions, the Delegate’s Welcome Dinner on May 16, the International Dinner on May 17 and Delegate’s Departure lunch on May 18. For full details of the IBIS 2010 delegate package visit ibisworldwide.com.

Montreal, Quebec--August 30, 2010--Excitement, sunblock and a little bit of burnt rubber was in the air this weekend at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 in Montreal.

The NASCAR event attracted more than 70,000 people to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, including a large contingent of 3M's team and industry partners.

"This is our fourth year at the Montreal race," said 3M's Scott Blanchard. "We have a hospitality tent here for our best customers. This is the activation event for our NASCAR sponsorship here in Canada at the Nationwide race, so we're really excited to be here."

Colin Braun raced in the number 16 car for 3M. At just 22 years old, Braun is the second-highest ranked rookie in NASCAR. He came by 3M's tent before the race to sign autographs and answer some questions from fans.

"I love coming up here," Braun told the crowd. "This is such a great city to come out to--the city's great, the race track is really fun, it's neat to see all the fans that come out, and it's cool to drive the 3M Ford Fusion."

The Montreal track--full of twists and bends--isn't what many NASCAR drivers are used to, which made for interesting conditions.

"It's going to be really interesting to watch to see how people save their equipment and save their brakes," Braun said before the race.

And it was interesting. By the end of the Sunday race, much of the field had been involved in accidents, driver Robbie Gordon gave up the first-place position after running out of gas in the last lap, and Boris Said took home the checkered flag after beating out Max Papis by just .012 seconds, the fifth-lowest margin in NASCAR history.

3M and their customers, for their parts, went home with sun tans, an impressive sampling of 3M products and memories that will last for years.

Take a look at some of the photos from the weekend's events:

Stay tuned to collisionrepairmag.com for a video feature on the weekend's events.