Abbotsford, British Columbia — Abbotsford’s 360 Collision Centres has been awarded the Outstanding Community Service Award from the Automotive Retailers Association of British Columbia (ARA B.C.).
The ARA presented the local business with the award for developing the Wings and Wheels event that raised money to fight breast cancer.
“360 Collision Centres stepped up in a big way by helping raise funds for a local charity organization,” said Adrian Scovell, president of ARA B.C. “Rick Francoeur and his team did not let COVID-19 stand in their way and found a solution to support their local community. This is exactly the sort of entrepreneurial spirit independent businesses and ARA members are known for.”
The Wings and Wheels event on Aug. 15 and 16, 2020 was considered a great success and raised close to 60,000 for the Crystal Gala Foundation.
The Crystal Gala is one of B.C.’s most respected charitable organizations and when word spread that COVID-19 had forced the cancellation of their annual charity gala fundraising event, 360 Collision Centres knew they had to do something to help.
“The Crystal Gala had planned on gifting some important pieces of equipment for local hospitals to help people in our community, and we knew that COVID would make those gifts difficult in 2020. We decided to create an event that adhered to COVID protocols and came up with the concept of a drive-thru hot rod car show,” stated Rick Francoeur, president of 360 Group of Companies. “As word spread, the show expanded to include vintage airplanes, tractors, trucks, emergency service vehicles, a significant display of military equipment from conflicts around the globe along with the hot rods, muscle cars, vintage and classic cars that 360 Group is known for. And by the end of the two days, we had raised over $56,000, which in turn the Crystal Gala used to support women and men in our region in their fight against breast cancer.”
360 Group of Companies includes 360 Fabrication, Canada’s largest hot rod shop; 360 Car and Marine Audio and 360 Collision Centres, one of the highest certified autobody repair facilities in the Fraser Valley.
The Chrystal Gala foundation is a 100 percent volunteer-run and raises more than three million for the fight against breast cancer in the Fraser Valley.
