HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL – April 17, 2015 –The Collision Repair Education Foundation held a ribbon cutting ceremony at Maxwell High School’s (Lawrenceville, GA) collision program on Wednesday, April 8th as they were the recipient of the 2013 $50,000 Makeover school grant funded by the Atlanta I-CAR Committee. Both local industry members and those attending the Collision Industry Conference meetings were provided with a tour of the program and met with school administration, collision instructors, and students. The school also announced that the donations provided to the collision program over the past several years have made it more attractive to prospective students and enrollment for the upcoming fall semester will double compared to previous years. Maxwell High School also had two collision students place 1st in state for the SkillsUSA collision repair and refinishing contests and these students will be competing at the national contest this June in Louisville, Kentucky.
Collision Repair Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode noted, “I congratulate and thank the Atlanta I-CAR Committee for coming together to assist Maxwell High School as we are seeing this support result in increased enrollment and highly trained students demonstrated by their SkillsUSA state winning students. Through the committee’s local fundraising efforts, over $100,000 has been invested into the schools collision program which has provided everything from newly painted shop floors, student scholarships, tool/equipment upgrades, and much more. To have the program look brand new and now producing state winning SkillsUSA students should prove to the industry that investing in their local collision programs through the Education Foundation pays off at multiple levels. ”
Maxwell High School Principal Dr. Jeff Hall noted, “The Makeover grant and support has afforded our collision instructors the ability to teach our students, at the highest level possible, through the use of advanced equipment and supplies. More importantly, the grant ensures our students receive industry level training every day. We are fortunate to have the support of the Collision Repair Education Foundation and Atlanta I-CAR Committee, as our graduates leave us well prepared for the workforce and post-secondary education.”
Atlanta I-CAR Chairman Gerry Poirier and Farmers Insurance National APD Manager noted, “The ability to obtain such great results with the school has been made possible by all the members of the Atlanta Committee. Their dedication and passion to make this program excel to such high levels is second to none. Our partnership with Maxwell’s teachers and administrators has been nothing short of phenomenal and has been key to the success. We will continue to support Maxwell and are looking for additional local programs where we can duplicate these outstanding results to promote this great industry and bring in new technicians.”
Industry members interested in joining the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s supporters and assist high school and college collision school programs should contact Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode at 847.463.5245 or Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org.
