Hoffman Estates, IL – July 9, 2014 – PartsTrader has donated $5,000 to start a fund in memory of collision industry member Troy Holm who passed in March 2013. The fund will assist collision repair and refinishing students competing at future SkillsUSA national competitions. The fund will be facilitated by the Collision Repair Education Foundation and will provide student travel grants and other forms of support needed by students to ensure the “best of the best” from around the country are represented at the national contest. All collision industry members are encouraged to contribute to the fund over the next 12 months to ensure that as many deserving collision and refinishing students can participate in the 2015 national SkillsUSA competition as possible, as well as for many years to come.
“We believe this is a wonderful way to honor Troy’s legacy and his life-long commitment to the collision repair industry,” said Dale Sailer, PartsTrader’s Vice President of Business Development. “Troy was hugely passionate about the good and valuable work that the men and women of this industry do each day, and the opportunity to help the future generations of collision repair professionals who share his passion represents a great way to always hold Troy in our collective memory.”
Collision Repair Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode noted, “I would like to thank PartsTrader for starting this fund in remembrance of Troy Holm and providing assistance to those students who have earned the right to compete at the national level during the SkillsUSA competition. We hear instances where some collision repair and/or refinish students take first place in their state competition, however are unable to attend the national contest due to lack of funding. This grant, which we encourage other industry members to support, will ensure that the collision industry truly does have the very best represented at the national contest.”
A video is available online announcing the memorial fund, and collision industry members interested in supporting this fund are asked to contact Collision Repair Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org at 847-463-5244.