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Congratulations to the Class of 2009

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Well, it’s hard to believe that my graduating students have completed two years in the collision repair program at Butler. The time has flown by fast. I’m excited to see each of them turn the chapter in their book of life as they start their new career. I look forward to hearing success stories from them. I once heard that a good manager does not try to give his or her employees the expectations to be as successful or skilled as s/he is. Rather, the good manager gives their employees the encouragement to be better than they are. I believe the same holds true for teachers. I don’t believe it’s my job to show the students how talented or smart that I am, but rather help them explore how talented and smart they are. I really wish the best for them and their future. If they pass me up on the road of success or become more talented than I am in collision repair, then I’ll feel that I did a job well done.

I would like to congratulate my 2009 Collision Repair Students of Butler Community College. Now it’s time to begin your successful journey in life. Make me proud!

Here is a short video with a few photos of the past few years in the Collision Repair Program.

Butler’s Collision Repair Program Competes at Skills USA

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Collision Repair

Several Collision Repair students at Butler Community College competed at Skills USA this week in Wichita, KS. We did not win a metal; however, we did reach a few accomplishments worth mentioning.

The competition was broken into five categories: Estimating, Metal Repair, Plastic Repair, Welding, and Frame. All of the students in the collision repair competition competed and were scored in each area. Then the scores in all five areas were averaged together to determine the winners. As I mentioned, we did not received a metal, but we did score extremely high in a few areas.

One of our students scored the highest score of everyone in the plastic repair competition. Another BCC student scored the second highest score in estimating. However, they scored lower than the winning students did in other areas. The encouraging news is that two of the three BCC students that competed are only halfway through the collision repair program. That’s right, they are first-year students. Therefore, they should perform extremely well at next years competition.

This is my first competition to be involved with at Skills USA as well. I believe the students and myself now have a better idea of how the competition works, which will benefit us next year. So look Skills USA, we’re planning to win next year.

I would like to congratulate all of the Skills USA winners. I also commend all of the students, instructors, schools, sponsors, and everyone else that contributed their time to help produce the collision repair technicians of tomorrow.

Automotive Technology – Engineering/Manufacturing

Automotive Technology competed in several areas at Skills USA.  They received a bronze metal in Parts Management.  

Engineering/Manufacturing received two bronze metals.  I don’t have all of the details on these programs at this time, but kudos to the winning students.

Thanks again to all of the students for taking the initiative and sacrificing their time to compete and to everyone else involved with Skills USA.

Butler Collision Student Wins Women’s Industry Network Scholarship

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We received an application for a scholarship to attend a conference with the Women’s Industry Network (WIN) in the mail.  The application asked for the collision repair instructors to select and encourage their best female student to apply.  I only have one second-year female student so I asked Jenni if she would be interested in attending the 2009 WIN conference, which is March 22 – 24 in Dallas, Texas. Jenni agreed that a scholarship to attend the conference would be interesting.  Therefore, Jenni wrote a small essay expressing why she would like to attend the conference, I completed the instructor portion of the application and we mailed it in.

Friday, I received an e-mail that Jenni won the scholarship.  I don’t have all the details about the scholarship yet, but I do have some information about WIN that I can share with you.  WIN is an organization for women in the collision repair industry.   Their mission statement is: “The Women’s Industry Network (WIN) is a not-for-profit association dedicated to encouraging, developing and cultivating opportunities to attract women to collision repair while recognizing excellence, promoting leadership, and fostering a network among the women who are shaping the industry.”

The 2009 conference keynote speaker is Marjorie Brody. You can see a short YouTube about Marjorie below.  Other speakers include John Edelen, CEO and President of I-CAR, and Stacy Bartnik, Assistant Vice President & Director of Field Services CARSTAR Franchise Systems, Inc.

Kudos to Jennifer Engelbrecht.  I feel confident that Jenni is among the top collision repair students in the nation.   She shows up on time everyday with a positive attitude and ready to tackle all challenges each day produces.  Therefore, she will be a great asset to the WIN organization.

Below is the short video of the key speaker.

February, 2009 BCRN Newsletter Blog

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This is a newsletter blog that will be posted once a month to highlight other blog posts, videos, events, and other things going on in the collision repair program.

School of the Year Update


We’ve completed all of the information needed for the award and mailed it to Tomorrow’s Technician. We’ll have to wait until April to hear who the national and regional winners are. To see all of the schools that made it to the top 20 finalist visit Tomorrow’s Technician. I would like to thank all of the auto tech and collision repair students for providing all of the needed information.  Our division Dean, Jim Edwards, and Devin Olson’s mother, Karen Ottaway, also helped by writing a letter of recommendation.  Whether we win or not, I appreciate all of the help to meet the deadline.

First Year Students


The first year students have already completed damage analysis, bolt-on panel alignment, auto estimating, and are now in paint refinish.  Last semester the students completed body repair and plastic repair. We’re now using those projects to prime, block, paint, and clear coat. They are learning about safety, equipment, spray guns and adjustments, and spraying techniques. They have also been color sanding and buffing the parts that they paint. I have to admit, there is a lot of talent in my first-year class.  
Second Year Students

The second year students are currently learning an in-depth class about color matching, tinting, and blending.   Blending is the process of using a color close to the original finish and blending (or layering) it into the original color. While there may actually be two shades, blending fools the eye into seeing only one color.  Most of the shop owners that I talk to say they blend most jobs.  Some of the metallic, pearl, and tinted clears would make it too time consuming to panel paint without blending.

Focusing on the Focus


Both classes have been working on the Focus project. This project started out to be used for replacing skins; however, after hooking it up to our Shark measuring system and removing some of the skins, we found quite a bit of hidden damage. Layer-by layer, we remove the damaged parts. Luckily, we have another Focus that have most of the parts needed.   It takes a little time and skill to take weld-on parts off of one car to be used for another car. Care must be taken not to damage the parts during removal.   Here is a short video of the work in progress of the Focus.
 

Instructor Training


Instructors must become students to stay properly trained. This month I attended the Nuts & Bolts of Estimating in Galesburg, IL. This was an excellent class. Learn more about the class.

Ted Powe Scholarship Memorial Skate


There was a skating event at the Carousel Skate Center in Wichita, KS this month. The event was in memory of Ted Powe and benefited the Ted Powe Scholarship. Read more about the event. 

Blogs and videos found in the media.


I found one video and one blog post on Tomorrow’s Technician magazine
Student Led Video

Auto Estimating – Part One

Other Blog and/or Videos

Ted Powe Skating Event Video
history in the making, IT’S ALL IN THE HP

You can watch all of our videos on our  YouTube BCRN channel at www.YouTube.com/ButlerCollision

BCRN in other places

Join us on FaceBook.  We have a group for all collision repair schools, students, and technicians to network. Join this group

Contact Information
For more information about the Collision Repair program contact:
Donnie Smith
Lead Collision Instructor
(316)323-6890
asmith73@butlercc.edu

For more information about the Auto Tech program contact:
Jeremy Carlson
Auto Tech Instructor
(316)322-3287
jcarlson5@butlercc.edu

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Collision Repair Tip
Anytime that your using the frame machine, make sure that the chain is a STRAIGHT 90 degrees to the tower and also have the hook pointing to the floor. You’ll have less of a chance of it coming loose from the car.
~Mark Lapes – Automotive Forums

Fact
Butler opened in 1927 and now enrolls over 8000 students.

Quote
“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude”
~Zig Ziglar

Question
In your opinion, what is the most important step when refinishing a vehicle?

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Why We Need Collision Repair Technicians

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Sam Moser, one of my collision repair students, e-mailed me a video titled “female driver complication.”  I believe there are as many bad men drivers, but I did find the video hilarious. So, I YouTubed it and thought “Why We Need Collision Repair Technicians” would be a good fit for the video. If you haven’t seen this video, check it out and let me know what you think.