Board working with staff on leadership transition. The Collision Repair Education Foundation announced July 17 that Brandon Eckenrode has stepped down as executive director. Eckenrode led the foundation since August 2021 when he was named managing director. He was promoted to executive director in June 2023. He joined the foundation in 2009 as associate director […]
CREF and Atlanta I-CAR Committee Grow a Georgia High School Collision Repair Program From 28 to 120 Students
A 15-year partnership among the school, the Collision Repair Education Foundation and a local I-CAR volunteer committee has turned a small shop class into a regional technician pipeline. Maxwell High School of Technology in Lawrenceville, Ga., has grown its collision repair program from about 28 students to roughly 120 across 15 years, an expansion its […]
CREF Support and Industry Partnerships Build a New York Collision Repair Pipeline
A New York City career and technical high school has turned more than a decade of Collision Repair Education Foundation support and a widening circle of industry partners into a pipeline that carries students from the classroom to SkillsUSA competition and into entry-level collision repair jobs. At Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High […]
IAA Increases Annual CREF Donation to $100,000
Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. (IAA) is raising its annual contribution to the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) from $75,000 to $100,000 in 2026, the foundation announced. “We increased our donation because the need has grown,” said Mark Helvenston, vice president at IAA and a former CREF board vice chair. “Schools are struggling to keep programs […]
Collision Repair Education Foundation Reports More Than $9 Million in 2025 In-Kind Donations
The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) said industry partners contributed more than $9 million in in-kind donations to collision repair training programs in 2025, with software providers accounting for the largest share of the support. The donations equipped schools across the country with the equipment, software and parts used in modern collision repair facilities. For […]
Fuji Spray Auto Becomes First Sponsor of CREF Art Meets Automotive Competition
The Collision Repair Education Foundation has signed Fuji Spray Auto as the first sponsor of its Art Meets Automotive Competition, with the spray equipment manufacturer donating 50 professional spray guns to the program and to collision repair schools as it returns for a fifth year in 2026. Of the 50 spray guns Fuji Spray Auto […]
I-CAR Volunteer Committees Have Raised $727,200 since 2001 for 67 Collision Schools Through Collision Repair Education Foundation
Local I-CAR Volunteer Committees raised $727,200 for the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) Benchmark Award program from 2021 through 2025, with the funds reaching 67 secondary and post-secondary collision repair programs and more than 5,000 students, the foundation said. Nineteen committees contributed during the five-year window, led by the Atlanta I-CAR Committee, which has invested […]
WIN Awards 2026 Scholarships and Tool Kits to 39 Collision Repair Students
The Women’s Industry Network awarded more than $50,000 in scholarship funding and tool kits to 39 collision repair students for 2026, the organization announced May 7. The recipients were selected from more than 100 applications submitted to the program, which the organization administers in partnership with the Collision Repair Education Foundation. The announcement coincides with […]
I-CAR Donates $255,000 to CREF
Donation marks 18th consecutive year of support. The Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) has presented its 2026 annual donation of $255,000 to the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF), the 18th consecutive year the training organization has contributed to the foundation. Cumulative I-CAR giving since the annual program began exceeds $2.3 million, according to […]
Collision Repair Education Foundation Names 2026 Executive Committee
The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) has named its 2026 Executive Committee, a seven-member leadership group tasked with expanding the nonprofit’s workforce development and school support programs as the collision repair industry contends with a persistent technician shortage. Brenda Hogen of PartsTrader continues as chair. Kayla Williams Clark of Classic Collision moves into the vice […]
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