Hoffman Estates, Ill. (April 2, 2020) – A memorial fund has been established by the Collision Repair Education Foundation in honor of their former Executive Director, Ron Ray, who passed away over the weekend. Ron was the Education Foundation’s Executive Director from 1997-2007. The fund will support the collision students and schools that Ron supported throughout his career.
Prior to working for the Collision Repair Education Foundation, Ron worked at Porsche Cars NA and American Honda. After his tenure at CREF, he continued his career at I-CAR for the Education segment and then as an instructor at Lincoln Tech-Nashville prior to retirement.
“Ron was instrumental in making CREF the great organization it is today,” said Clark Plucinski, Collision Repair Education Foundation Executive Director. “Given his passion for collision education, Ron would be gratified to know that so many of the schools and students he cared about are being assisted in his memory. He will be missed by so many in the industry, and I was honored to call him a colleague and a friend.”
Gwen Ray, Ron’s wife, reflected on Ron’s achievements: “Ron had a passion for what he did, whether it was working for OEM or teaching. He wanted to make a difference; that is what was most important to him. Over the eight years he taught at Lincoln Tech, he had received several letters from students and that was his reward. He loved what he did-period.”
Industry members interested in making a contribution to the Ron Ray Memorial Fund can visit: www.CollisionEducationFoundation.org and select “Donate” or https://53713.thankyou4caring.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=298 and use the dropdown box to select “Ron Ray Memorial Fund”.
We also encourage any industry members to submit stories and photos of Ron from throughout his career. We will post the stories and pictures on our website. All photos and stories can be set to info@ed-foundation.org.
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The Collision Repair Education Foundation, founded in 1991, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting collision repair educational programs, schools, and students to create qualified, entry-level employees and connect them with an array of career opportunities. For information on how to donate to programs supported by the Education Foundation, visit us online at: www.CollisionEducationFoundation.org.
