RICHMOND, Va. — FIX AUTO, a network of collision repair centers and industry network services, has become the newest corporate member of the National Auto Body Council (NABC). FIX AUTO has been active in a number of philanthropic activities related to the industry, most recently as a participant in the pilot of NABC's 2007 Recycled Rides initiative, a community awareness project whereby members of the NABC repair and donate recycled vehicles to families in need throughout the United States.
Elizabeth Stein, director of network services for FIX AUTO, serves on the 2008 Recycled Rides project committee. "We are excited to take part in the various NABC initiatives such as Recycled Rides whose aim is to highlight the good that is in the auto body industry by doing what collision repairers do every day, and that is not only mending cars, but changing lives for the better," she says. CEO Erick Bickett, who co-founded FIX USA in 1997, is likewise pleased by the prospects of NABC corporate membership. "As an owner of eight body shops and CEO of a national best-of-class network of collision repair facilities, I know firsthand how hard one has to work to overcome the stereotypes that plague our industry," he states. "Becoming a corporate sponsor of the NABC squarely aligns with the FIX AUTO mission of exceeding our customer's expectations." The support of corporate members help NABC, a not-for-profit organization, undertake such projects as a national public relations effort to educate consumers and repairers on issues such as eliminating fraud and finding a quality collision repair facility; the aforementioned Recycled Rides project; and a comprehensive effort to network with the consumer press to elevate the collision repairer's profile in the eyes of the motoring public. "We are pleased to add FIX AUTO to the roster of corporate members that believe in and support our mission," states NABC Executive Director Chuck Sulkala. "The company is composed of quality shop owners seeking commonality in purpose and direction, a desire we believe corporate affiliation will make even more complete. This partnership builds upon a solid relationship that started last year with the Recycled Rides pilot program, and will undoubtedly lead to greater things for the industry as we move forward." NABC membership applications are available on the website at www.autobodycouncil.org. | 
