Annual Red Carpet Awards recognize excellence in leadership, education, and advocacy

The Collision Industry Red Carpet Awards, held Tuesday during SEMA Week in Las Vegas, honored several individuals in the collision repair industry for their dedication to safe and proper repairs; education and training; consumer advocacy; and doing the right thing.

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) honored Petra Schroeder, known to the industry as “Collisionista,” with the 2026 Humanitarian Award for a relentlessness never to stop giving to the industry.

“There are people who talk about giving back, and there are people who just quietly get to work, people who answer the phone when someone needs help, who encourage someone who’s trying to find their place in the industry, and who remind us that sometimes the most meaningful thing we can do for another person is simply show up,” said SCRS Board Member Kena Dacus, when co-presenting the award. “Our recipient has spent a lifetime doing exactly that.”

Past SCRS Chair and co-presenter Amber Alley added that Schroeder’s mentoring, advocacy, and generosity have never stopped, and her impact has kept growing with a genuine love for the industry.

“I truly love this industry,” Schroeder said when accepting the award. “I truly love the people even more. And everything, every person that I ever met means a lot to me. …I just want to cry and just say thank you so much for your love, for your passion that you returned to this industry as much as I have returned to this industry.”

SCRS also awarded the March Taylor Kina’Ole Award to Jason Bartanen in celebration of March Taylor, who passed away in 2007. SCRS says Taylor’s commitment to technical excellence, mentorship, and service to others left a lasting impression on the collision repair community and around the SCRS table.

Taylor was a master technician, owner of Auto Body Hawaii, and an industry leader who spearheaded the idea of a centralized service that repairers could use to submit inquiries challenging estimating systems’ data based on real-world repairs. That idea became the Data Enhancement Gateway (DEG).

“March was a technician first,” said Aaron Schulenburg, SCRS executive director. “He was somebody who believed in the work that was being done behind the front office in the bays of our shops. He lived and breathed and taught the culture of doing the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons, and that’s what kina’ole means.

“I think March understood something that can get lost in conversations about this industry: that the greatest responsibility lies with the men and women who perform repairs; the people who go home at the end of the day with busted knuckles and calloused hands; the people who straighten the structures, and repair the damage, and put vehicles back together. They’re the ones whose work determines how vehicles will protect our families.”

Barry Dorn added that Taylor “stood for the people whose voices weren’t always heard — the technicians, the people doing the work.”

Dorn said Bartanen never loses sight of his “why,” and has spent his career advocating for technicians, investing in their success, and making sure they have someone in their corner. Bartanen has spent years working with SkillsUSA students and now helps build technicians’ careers through his business, Collision ProAssist.

“I’ve always wanted to do the right thing,” Bartanen said. “Our technicians are the reason we’re here today; the men and women who are fixing cars each and every day. I want all of us to lift them up, recognize their accomplishments, and support them.”

In honor of another collision repair industry leader, the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) presented the first annual Clark Plucinski Legacy Award to Chris Evans of State Farm. Evans is a former collision technician and collision center manager who previously served as CREF’s chair and on I-CAR’s Board of Directors.

The award recognizes an individual who embodies the spirit, dedication, and commitment that defined Plucinski’s life and career.

Plucinski dedicated more than 50 years to the collision repair industry, receiving numerous honors and recognitions throughout his career, including induction into the Hall of Eagles in 1993.

From 2012 until his retirement in 2020, Plucinski served as CREF’s executive director.

“Those of you who knew Clark will remember hearing him say time and time again, ‘It’s all about the kids,'” shared Stacy Bartnik, CREF Board of Trustees member. “Those words were more than just a phrase. They reflected his passion, his purpose, his unwavering belief that the future of our industry depends on investing in the next generation. Clark dedicated his career to creating opportunities for students, supporting collision repair education and ensuring that young people had a path to successful careers in our industry.”

Other Red Carpet awards presented this year were:

BodyShop Business

Executive of the Year, single location: Bob Noble, Silver Creek Auto Body in Silverton, Oregon

Executive of the Year, multiple location: Eric McKenzie, Asbury Automotive Group in Dallas, Texas

Collision Industry Conference

Volunteer of the Year: Danny Gredinberg, Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG) administrator

CREF

Fueling the Future Award: Greta Houlahan, CAR-Part Pro pro marketplace project manager

FenderBender and Auto Body Repair Network (ABRN)

Best Repair Planner/Estimator Award: Mike Mead, Dacus Auto Body & Collision Repair

FenderBender

FenderBender Award: Kyle Al-Rifai, Swift Collision Repair in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. As part of the award program, FenderBender donates to a charitable program of the award winner’s choice. Al-Rifai chose the Collision Engineering Career Alliance.

I-CAR

Jeff Silver I-CAR Platinum Professional Award: Justin Lewis, Accurate Auto Body in Redmond, Washington

Russ Verona I-CAR Gold Class Shop Award: Victor Auto Body Works in Middletown, Connecticut

NABC

Changing and Saving Lives Award: Shyllo Michaelis, chief strategy officer of Texas Collision Centers (TCC)

SCRS

Collision Industry Individual Service Award: John Helterbrand, Collision Engineering

Images

Featured image provided by SCRS

Petra Schroeder (center) with Amber Alley (left) and Kena Dacus after receiving the SCRS 2026 Humanitarian Award.

Jason Bartanen (center) with his family after receiving the March Taylor Kina’Ole Award.

Chris Evans (center) poses with Stacy Bartnik (right), Clark Plucinski’s wife, Karen, and Plucinski’s former business partner, Rick, after receiving the Clark Plucinski Legacy Award.