I realized after taking my first drivers license test that if I’m going to keep driving I had better learn how to fix dents. My dad’s ’62 Ford wasn’t the same when I got back home. So with some help from a neighbor (he was foreman at Buck Buick) we Repaird it and dad didn’t know about it for two years. I worked at various bodyshops around the area and in 1968 went out on my own. I soon discovered that you couldn’t work three days and fish four because there was no money for paying bills. After about 8 months of this I went back to work for Thompson Body Shops, in their Silvis location. In 1979 I again had the urge to ”try again”. This time it was different, all work and NO play. In 1983 Mr. Thompson and I got together with a buy out option for his shop in Silvis. The rest is history.

I have been an Automotive Service Association (ASA) member since 1989. I have served on the ASA Collision Division Operations Committee since 1999 and I am the current chairman of the division's Refinish Committee. I regularly attend the International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE), the Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) and the ASA annual convention. I am National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) master-certified. I am a graduate of the Automotive Management Institute (AMI). I was instrumental in organizing the ASA-Quad Cities chapter and have held chapter positions of president, vice-president and secretary. Due to my recruiting efforts, I became a member of the ASA Chairman's Club. I have served as an Inter-Industry Conference on Automotive Repair (I-CAR) district chairman from 1986-1992. I am an original member of a three state advisory committee for a local salvage yard, providing input on damage analysis, parts delivery and identification, as well as I-CAR cutting practices. I also am a member of the Scott Community College auto body advisory board. As a board member, I successfully assisted the college in becoming an I-CAR welding/training certification center for the area. The college has also earned NATEF certification and the instructors are ASE master-certified. I am currently the chairman of the Black Hawk Small Business Development Center/Export Trade Center advisory board and president of the local business organization, Friends of the Avenue (FOTA). Additional memberships include PPG Roundtable and MVP, the Silvis Optimists Club, the Rock Island Moose Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. I am the current congregation chairman and past elder at the Immanuel Lutheran Church Rock Island and an Eagle Scout.

When asked I devote so much time and energy to the collision industry I simply say. To help lead our organization into the future by making a positive contribution to the industry. I have a driven desire to improve the collision repair industry's public image, as well as advance it technically.

Hi my name is Bob Lum. My wife’s name is Deb and our favorite hobby is riding our Harleys together. I also have three children, Erik, Derek, and Marli, as well as two stepchildren, Autumn and Zach. Erik and Derek are currently attending Blackhawk College. In my spare time I enjoy customizing motorcycles and cars. Finding ways to tweak more horsepower and speed from an engine is my very favorite pass time. My motto is fast, reliable and clean.

I graduated from Denver Automotive and Diesel College in 1976. I worked for a local dealership just before I started my career at Collision Repair Center in July 1984, as the frame and uni-body specialist, using the latest in frame measuring equipment. The Lazer. Since then I have received a PPG Master Certification in refinishing, ICAR Uni-Body training, Advanced Vehicle Systems, Steering and Suspension and Collision Repair 2000+ training. I am an ICAR Certified Auto GMA (MIG) Welder and a Certified ASE Master Technician.

For my 20th anniversary at CRC my wife and I received an eight-day, seven-night cruise to Alaska. What a great place to work.

Hello, my name is Todd Tanner. I graduated from Riverdale High School. I am married, have two children and live in Cordova, IL. I started doing bodywork soon out of high school for a couple of local bodyshops in Cordova. In 1987 I started at Quality Control Autobody in East Moline as a detail person washing cars and such then transferred to Collision Repair Center in 1988. At Collision Repair Center I was taught the correct way to repair damaged vehicles all the while keeping my health and safety in mind. Being employed by CRC has afforded me many opportunities to advance my career with training and certifications. I am a Certified welder, ASE Certified and I-CAR trained. I really enjoy my job and this is a great place to work.

My name is Dave Vickroy. I graduated from Untied Township High School .I have always been interested in cars, so when united township offered a vocational class on auto body repair I signed up for it. After completing high school, I started buying cars that needed Repaird. I would fix them up, sell them, and go on, so I could pay my way through two years at Blackhawk College. I majored in psychology and chemistry. After College, I started a career in the auto repair industry. I was a painter for 7 years at Eriksen Chevrolet. Then I moved on to Larry and Jerry’s and became a painter / autobody repair technician. After fourteen years I started a career at Collision Repair Center as a technician / estimator. Over the past 18 years at CRC I advanced to my current position as General Manager of Collision Repair Center. I am certified by PPG and ASE as well as I CAR Trained. I am the first inductee of United Township High School’s Hall of Fame in the vocational department.

I’m married and have four children, three grandchildren and in November2004 I became a great grandpa. I got started doing bodywork by accident. Actually it wasn’t a crash accident I just wanted to paint my 1957 Chevy. I talked to a friend of mine and he said that if I sanded and masked it up he would paint it for me. Well I started sanding and repairing small dings with his help, then sold it. I never did get it painted. By now I really liked doing these kinds of things. I moved to Wichita, KS in 1985 and started my own shop, than in 1989 I returned to the Quad City area working for a couple of dealerships and landed here at CRC in November on 1991. Here I started out as a body technician and decided I would like to work in the parts department. I managed that for eight years until I decided I really missed the repair process. So when an opening came up (very rare around here) I went back on the “line”. My hobby is racing stock cars.

I first became interested in cars when I was in my teens. I started painting cars in my parent’s driveway when I was 16. I knew from that point I wanted to learn to do it right so I could get into doing it professionally. I was lucky enough to enroll at Scott Community College where I learned a great deal from a lot of staff members. It was a very fun experience. After graduating from SCC in 1980, I wanted to get right into the work force. After lots of applications and phone calls, I received a call from Warren Chevrolet (now Green Chevrolet). I served as Kenny Tonn’s assistant for about six months and learned a lot from the technicians there. Next, I received a call from Eriksen Chevrolet. They offered me a chance to get my feet wet doing what I always wanted, repairing wrecked cars. Although I started out doing used cars, I quickly advanced to doing warranty and transportation damage in the main shop. I also did collision work. I started to feel very comfortable and confident in my work. In March of 1985, I had an opportunity to meet with Myron Hazen, whom I was told was starting his second body shop, called Collision Repair Center. When I met Myron I knew we would have success because he demanded perfection and provided an opportunity for further training I don’t feel I would have had elsewhere.
Since then I have been a part of what is now the finest collision center in the area.

ASE Certified and PPG Master Certified Painter
I-CAR Trained

I was born and raised right here in the Quad City area. I am happily married with two wonderful children. Boys, ALL BOY BOYS, I’m told its pay back time from my youth. I started doing bodywork while still in High School. After graduation I worked for a local dealership until starting my career with Collision Repair Center in July 1985. I started out as a combination man doing bodywork and painting. Than about ten years later I decided that I would like to only do painting. I am a PPG Certified Master Refinisher, ICAR Trained, and ASE Certified. My hobbies include golfing, swimming, hunting, working around the yard and spending time with my family. I like working here because it is a comfortable work environment and I feel at home here.

Hi, I’m Edward M. Wilson, just call me Ed. I live on Campbells Island with my wife and three wonderful children. I graduated from Untied Township High School (UTHS) in 1980 with the intentions of following in my dad’s footsteps by becoming a machinist. It just happened at that period of time the economy was on a down turn. I had always been interested in cars and when the opportunity presented itself I went to work at a local garage first as a lower tech. and worked my way into being a journeyman mechanic. In 1984 I started at CRC working under the guidance Mel Johnson. I moved to South Carolina in ’88 for three years. In 1991, I heard CRC was in need of a mechinic. My wife and I talked it over and we moved back to the Quad Cities and Collision Repair Center. My hobbies include boating, fishing, camping, and riding my 1979 FLH Harley. I enjoy books like Easy Riders, any Action movies, and Classic Rock. One of my favorite places to go is Sturgis and I really like to watch wrestling. My biggest pet peeve is drivers that pull out in front of you and go 10 mph. I am a licensed Air Conditioner repairman, ASE Certified and I-CAR Trained. My specialty is derivability problems.

My name is James Speetzen and I am an estimator for Collision Repair Center. I have always had an interest in the automotive field. As a child, I remember helping my dad with body and mechanical work on his own vehicles, and I knew that it would be an ideal career option since I enjoyed it so much. I graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in 1989 and attended Scott Community College for automotive collision repair. While at Scott Community, I worked at a local dealership as a painter for about six months, then I went to work for a small body shop in Eldridge for a year doing body and paint work as well as writing estimates and some industrial painting. In 1991 I went to work for Myron’s original shop, Quality Control Autobody, starting out as a technician and advancing to manager. Several years later Myron decided to consolidate Quality Control and Collision Repair Center so I came up to CRC to work as an estimator. Through the years at CRC I have attended several continuing education courses with PPG, AMI, ASE, I-CAR, Mitchell, and Blackhawk College.

Hello, my name is Lorrie Stevens. I have been with Collision Repair Center since January of 1993 and enjoy my job very much. When not at work, I am continuing my education at Blackhawk College. I have been married 26 years and have 2 grown sons. In my spare time I enjoy reading, boating, and gardening.

My interest in cars started at a young age when I would pump gas and clean windshields at my parent’s service stations. I have worked in the automotive field for over 20 years, from delivering auto parts to selling aftermarket auto accessories I have seen many sides of the auto industry. The first bodyshop that I worked for was a great experience, the owner was very open and taught me a lot of the business side of the industry. After a few years I was offered a job at an independent appraisal company writing estimates, their customer service was lacking and this was not what I expected, I left that company and was asked by a friend to help out at his accessory store; I stayed with him for a few years. One evening I received a call from a friend of Myron's and was asked to meet with him. In June of 2000, I accepted a job as production manager of Collision Repair Center. Later I advanced to an estimator’s position where I am able to interact with customers on a daily basis. Should you ever need any of our services please call or email me. Customer service is what I really like to do and I am looking forward to helping you.

Education	College Credits
I-CAR Business	Management
Advanced Vehicle Systems	Public Speaking
Collision repair 2000	Radio Communications
Many Estimating Seminars	Radio Broadcasting
PPG Customer Focused Selling	Current FCC BCL
PPG Management Series Estimate Plus
Padgett Thompson Management Skills

 

I started my career in the auto body repair business with the CO-OP program my senior year at Moline High School, when a local body shop specializing in working on Corvettes needed a couple students to work part time. Being really into cars, I eagerly volunteered and worked there for approximately a year and learned a lot about bodywork. Painting was another story, that I pretty much learned on my own when I started doing some repair work in my parent’s garage. Over the next 5 years after the Corvette shop I worked a verity of jobs, everything from being a meat cutter, welder, and a couple small body shops. I also went to Blackhawk College and got a degree in Computer Programming. During those 5 years I kept working on my own cars in my garage. Then in 1984 I got a job at Hiland Toyota Bodyshop where I worked my way up to Assistant Bodyshop Manager. I did all aspects of the collision repair business: disassembling, body repair, uni-body structure repair, painting, assembly, and estimating. I worked at Hiland Toyota for 12 years. During that time I also continued working on my own cars/trucks in my garage, where I started playing around with custom bodywork and painting, including airbrushing. I have had two trucks I customized featured in Mini-Truckin Magazine (July 1991, Sept. 1994) and have had others just pictured in other Magazines. In 1996 I left Hiland Toyota to go to work for my parents Open Air Market and greenhouse, they had started several years earlier, and it was growing extremely fast, and I thought I wanted to change careers. After 3 years in the Open Air Market and Greenhouse business, I decided to go back into the autobody repair business. After taking a tour of Collision Repair Center, several years earlier, I knew I wanted to work there. I started at CRC in April of 1999. During all my years of experience prior to CRC I had never had any schooling in autobody repair. During my 5 years at CRC I have been able to get officially certified in all aspects of autobody repair, do to CRC’S requirements to stay current in the repair business through certification classes, which is one of the reasons I chose to, and continue to work here.

ASE certified
I-CAR certified
Collision repair 2000
Aluminum Repair
PPG certified
12 years estimating experience
Associates Degree in Computer Programming
25 years experience in autobody repair and painting

I start working in the automotive field in 1986 for a company that had a gas station, body shop, and a truck repair shop in a North suburb of Chicago. My first job was pumping gas and repairing car and truck tires. During this period I spent time at their other two shops. After three years of pumping gas and changing tires, I decided to stick with the body shop. My job was to wash cars and clean up at first, after a year I started working on damaged vehicles. I tore down the cars so the body \ frame men could do the repairs, when they were done and the painters had finished painting, I reassembled the cars. In October of 2000 I relocated to the Quad Cities where I obtained my current job at Collision Repair Center doing the same thing as well as running our flat bed wrecker. Then in March of 2004 I was promoted to Parts Manager.

I ‘am I-CAR Collision Repair 2000 certified.

Hi! I’m Russell McCannon. My wife Dawn and I are expecting our first little one this December. I graduated from Rock Ridge Senior High School in 1989, while taking one year of autobody repair at UTHS. After graduation I went to Wyoming Technical College for more training. I have always liked working on cars and find it very gratifying to know that I have helped someone out of a bad situation. The smile on peoples’ faces when they see their Repaird car can be almost overwhelming. It makes me feel good. I am GM and ICAR trained, both PPG and Dupont certified, I graduated from Beeline Frame School and I am an ASE Master Certified Technician. I have worked for a few bodyshops (independent and dealership) during my career. I started with Collision Repair Center in April 2002 and I feel Collision Repair Center is the best place of them all. The quality of work is excellent and the company looks out for my training, health and well-being.

Hello, my name is Paul M. Soliz. I was born in Moline IL and raised in Silvis IL most of my life. My wife Heather and I are blessed with our son Emilio. When I was 16 years old when landed my first job at Kelley Automotive. I have been around cars my whole life. My grandfather, father and uncle were always working on cars in my grandpa’s garage when I was growing up. So when it came time for me to go to work I was so excited to go every day, because I was doing the thing I loved the most. Being around cars. It’s been 7 years since I started working with cars as a career. Now working for Collision Repair Center in East Moline, my biggest goal is to paint cars like my Grandfather did, that would be my ultimate achievement.

I was born and raised in Milan. I graduated from Sherrard High School and
attended Blackhawk College. I currently live in Moline and have worked at CRC since January 2005. In my spare time i love to cook and bake. My hobbies include watching winged and non-winged sprint car racing as well as NASCAR and local stock car racing. I also volunteer for many different community projects.