Calgary, Alberta — As provinces and public health regions ease into reopening services and adjusting to the post-pandemic world, Simplicity Car Care kicked the door in with a Calgary Stampede party last Friday, bringing together all sides of the collision industry for a much-needed and long-awaited celebration.
“We at Simplicity decided a number of weeks ago that when the province of Alberta opened up and the Stampede was announced that it was going to be a go. We all felt that the optimism, not only in the industry, but in the entire province had clicked up a few notches,” said Greg Wing, manager of business development for Simplicity’s western division.
“We saw that and realized that the optimism was good for everybody, and we wanted to celebrate that—the people in our industry, the people in our family. So, we decided that we were going to have an event and throw a celebration party. Post-pandemic, post-apocalyptic, whatever you want to call it.”
As it turns out, the community was more than willing to answer the call as Wing said his expectations were blown away when he saw the 235 pre-event RSVPs manifest into an overall attendance of more than 300 people.
“Once the word got out that SCC was throwing a shindig, people started texting friends saying, ‘You gotta come by this place,'” said Wing.
“We even had some competitor stores come over and have a beer with us. It really was a complete and total celebration of the industry. Simplicity hosted it, but it really was a celebration of the entire industry and all the people in it.”
Even the entertainment at the party was above and beyond according to Wing, remarking that “[Lori Kole] and her band were there. They showed up at 4:30 and didn’t go home until 11 o’clock. I don’t think I’ve been to another party where they’ve had a band on-site for seven hours,” said Wing.
With the Canadian collision industry’s first real post-pandemic party in the books, Wing says he is very pleased with how the night went, boiling the party’s success down to a basic, but a crucial benchmark.
“We didn’t run out of any cold drinks, so you can’t ask for much better than that,” said Wing.
