NACE Automechanika Chicago Announces Scholarship Winners and Fundraising Efforts to Support the Chicagoland Area

Play a game of golf, help local automotive students and get in the spirit of giving back through a variety of programs at this year's show.

  NACE Automechanika Chicago, the largest U.S. trade show dedicated to high-end technical and management-related training for automotive collision and service repair shops, announces scholarship winners, program fundraisers and generous car donations from the National Auto Body Council (NABC) to those in need.

In a combined effort with UBM plc, Automotive Management Institute (AMi), National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) and Technicians Service Training (TST) are making training more accessible to automotive professionals and educators from around the country through a variety of programs. Eight laudable students from around the country will be receiving scholarships to NACE Automechanika to cover their travel to the event, full access to the show floor, training sessions and cash vouchers to be used at the expo to purchase tools, equipment and services.

"UBM plc and our Community Engagement Program are committed to supporting the social communities in which we work – those local to our offices as well as those local to our events," said Scott Schulman, CEO, UBM Americas. "This commitment is demonstrated through the scholarship program developed between the UBM Community Engagement Program and the Automotive Management Institute, National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation and Technicians Service Training. We at UBM plc stand by the importance of supporting and fostering the growth and development of community engagement programs and through our philanthropic dedication we strive to make these programs a positive experience and a success."

Additional Scholarship and Fundraising Highlights Include

• National Auto Body Council Recycle Rides Program – Since 2007, the Recycled Rides program has donated more than 2,000 vehicles nationwide to assist those in need. This year, at NACE Automechanika Chicago, two veterans and two civilians will receive vehicles recently repaired at Chicago auto body shops including ABRA Auto Body & Glass, Gerber Collision & Glass, Service King and All Line CARSTAR. Allstate, State Farm, Enterprise Rent-a-Car and Insurance Auto Auctions donated the vehicles. The event takes place at 12 p.m. Thursday, July 27 on the show floor.
• 16th Annual CREF Golf Tournament – In partnership with Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF), the annual golf tournament and fundraiser takes place at Harborside International Golf Center on Monday, July 24.. In addition to the fundraiser, CREF has collected donations throughout the calendar year, which will be awarded to students at the show in a media-exclusive event at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 27.

"We look forward to our annual golf event, co-hosted by PPG Automotive, where funds raised help the Collision Repair Education Foundation support high school and college collision school programs and students across the country," said Brandon Eckenrode, CREF director of development. "We thank both 3M and Chip Foose for 'chipping' in to help us raise even more funds with this contest on the course. This will only add to a great day of golf, networking, and fundraising for the future professionals of the industry."

Another highlighted event at NACE Automechanika Chicago is the 3M Demonstration & Education Mobile Operations (D.E.M.O) trailer where the newest automotive technology will be available for technicians and students to utilize. Foose, host of "Overhaulin" and designer of one-of-a-kind custom cars, will continue his appearances at NACE Automechanika meeting with customers at the booth. Attendees who donate in order to participate in CREF's Foursome's mini golf game will have the opportunity to win dinner with Foose at Villains in downtown Chicago on Thursday, July 27.

"We are excited to bring the 3M Demonstration & Education Mobile Operations trailer to this year's NACE Automechanika show, where customers can see our solutions in action, first hand, and even try them for themselves," said Dale Ross, U.S. marketing operations manager, 3M. "We are also happy to have Chip Foose join us to meet and talk with customers who visit the booth. We have a lot of new repair solutions, and a new Mobile App to introduce, so I encourage all attendees to stop by, as we will have something for everyone."

In an effort to help automotive repair and auto body shops in attendance be more environmentally responsible, AutoVitals presents a Shop of the Future where owners and employees can learn new digital technologies. Powered by AutoVitals' SmartFlow technology, technicians can now capture data, photos, video and other metrics on a tablet and then send that data as a part of a customer's repair order and inspection report. Focused on limiting resource consumption, this new technology will help shops become environmentally responsible, while streamlining the diagnostic process.

To register for NACE Automechanika Chicago, please visit: registration.n200.com/survey/

Apply for a NACE Automechanika Chicago Media Pass here: registration.n200.com/mediapass

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For more information about Automotive Service Association, visit: asashop.org

For more information about UBM Americas, visit: www.ubmamericas.com

For more information about Messe Frankfurt, visit: www.messefrankfurt.com

This article first appeared on prnewswire.com