In honor of Veterans Day, Mike’s Auto Body presented a completely refurbished 2015 Nissan Sentra to Abraham Jackson, USAF Veteran on November 9 at our Fairfield location.

This year, we partnered with GEICO Insurance, Travis AFB Airman & Family Readiness Center, Recycled Rides, and Operation Care and Comfort Organization. High ranking Travis AFB military officers, Mayor Harry Price, Assemblyman Frazier’s Veterans Ambassador Michael L. Brimer, SGM, USAR, RET, Napa Post 113 American Legion Color Guard and Vanden High School Band were in attendance at this well-attended event.  

The Benevolence Program is a community relations program whose mission is to present refurbished “new” used cars to deserving individuals or organizations. Everything is donated, the cars, parts, paint, mechanical inspections, tires and one full year of insurance. The body and paint technicians donate their time and talents. 

Abraham Jackson retired from the U.S. Air Force as a Tech Sergeant and began his military career as a fire fighter before becoming a C-17 Loadmaster. He also did three years in the Contingency Response Wing as an Instructor Loadmaster, Assistant Flight Chief of Operations 21st Airlift Squadron. As a fire fighter, he was deployed to Thumrait, Oman, and as a Loadmaster he was deployed to Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Kuwait, and Al Udeid in the CRW, as well as being deployed to Jordan. Now as a civilian, Jackson is currently a Unit Program Coordinator for the 9th Air Refueling Squadron, where he acts as a Security Manager, Facility Manager, Drug Demand Reduction Program Trusted Agent, Unit Fitness Program Manager, GOV Purchase Card Cardholder and a Defense Travel System Approving Official.

 Mike’s Benevolence Ambassador Sal Contreras was delighted with this year’s  community involvement and the support of the City of Fairfield. “Every year, we partner with multiple charities, and open up on our web site for applications,” he said. “Then we pick a family and give them a reliable car to make a significant difference in their lives. We fill the car with presents for the kids, we invite our employees to celebrate with us, and give the car away. We do this every year in Fairfield, and with Travis Air Force Base as part of that community, celebrate the heroes who have served our country, work with the base to find the right candidate, and celebrate Veterans Day by giving the vehicle to a military family.”

“It has been so rewarding over the past 17 years presenting cars to deserving families and single parents who are working to improve their skills and become independent,” Mike’s Owner Mike Rose said.  

Mike’s Auto Body has been participating in the Benevolence Program for the last 17 years around the Bay Area and has donated 72 cars to the community. This year marks our 18th year and after presenting cars in four presentations starting in October, November, December and ending on January 9th, we will have presented 80 cars to deserving families.

Here is the letter written by Jackson’s wife Maria on his behalf:

“I, Maria Jackson, nominate my husband, Abraham Jackson. I personally feel as though he is beyond deserving of a, “new to him vehicle”.

My husband retired from the Air Force in July of 2017 as a Loadmaster after serving 20 years. He has always gone above and beyond not only at work, but also, at home and within the community.

He strives every day to do his best for his family, friends and the community.

He’s helped feed the homeless; he’s opened his doors to the homeless, friends and families who were once, perfect strangers.

He’s always put his family, friends and sometimes, total strangers before himself because he wants to make sure everyone is cared for.

He always goes out of his way to say a simple hello to anyone he crosses paths with such as a neighbor, someone at the grocery store or someone he’s simply driving by in a parking lot.

He’s volunteered at the Opportunity House and at the The Father’s House doing security at Kid’s Fest in the summer and Adopt-A-Block. He’s also supported me with the Christmas Closet for Kids In Need the last few years. This guy right here, is a guy with a heart of gold. And, I’m truly honored to call him my husband, my best friend and the best father in the world.”

Jackson was also recommended by Capt. Marie Barrett, Flight Commander 9th Air Refueling Squadron and Nicole Stinnett-Travis AFB, Operation Care and Comfort’s North Bay Liaison and Past President of Vintage Valley Blue Star Moms for this year’s Benevolence car.

On October 26, Mike’s Auto Body hosted a Grand Opening ribbon-cutting event and gave away its 73rd vehicle to Veteran USMC Ryan Mason at its Vallejo location.

The festivities were kicked off by Benevolence Program Coordinator Sal Contreras, who welcomed the 100-plus people in attendance followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony with CFO Ragen Ortland, CEO Brennan Rose and Vallejo Chamber President and CEO James Cooper. 

At every Mike’s Benevolence presentation, there is an Invocation by Contreras followed by the playing of America the Beautiful by Napa Post 113 American Legion Color Guard featuring bagpipe player Kristopher Muse who is also a technician at Mike’s. The National Anthem was then sung by St. Patrick St. Vincent’s  High School’s Choir, under the direction of Ryan Lee.

The big moment of the day was when Ryan Mason received a 2016 Hyundai Elantra that was completely restored by the crew at Vallejo that donated their time. Mason did four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, and is married and has a five-month-old daughter. He was wounded in action and suffers from PTSD, and before receiving the vehicle, he often had to walk to and from his job.

Other speakers and sponsors made presentations during the ceremony. Mike’s Marketing Director Dane Dearlove shared our story of Benevolence; Vallejo’s Mayor Bob Sampayan welcomed Mike’s to the city; Assemblyman Tim Grayson (14th District) presented the Rose family with a plaque and Founder/CEO of the East County Veterans Support Services Josie Monaghan spoke, as well as Hertz Rent A Car Area Manager Manny Bernal prior the Presentation of the 2018 Benevolence Car to Veteran USMC Ryan Mason.

Dearlove discussed the importance of the company’s Benevolence program and its role in the Bay Area. “We are making history today with our Benevolence Program. Benevolence is just a word, but talk is cheap, but Mike’s Auto Body puts action behind their words to make it work. It starts at the top and works its way down, which means that many of our employees and vendors get involved. We do this to make a real difference in the communities where we do business for all of the right reasons, and it’s now become a part of our legacy.

“After sharing Ryan’s story, we all agreed Ryan is worthy of receiving the Benevolence Car this year,” Contreras said. “As a veteran combat Marine, Ryan has honored our country with four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. By receiving this car, Ryan will not have to walk or take the bus to work anymore.”

On Dec. 5, PPG Automotive Refinish and Mike’s Auto Body welcomed instructors from the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR) for a full-day event that included presentations from vendors, tours of the Mike’s Auto Body’s Antioch, CA facility and its Auto Damage Assessment Center and Training Center (ADAC), as well as product demonstrations by its Training Program Director Lupe Algood, and a “get to know” session with CDCR’s Superintendent Shannon Swain.

The CDCR is operated in conjunction with the Division of Rehabilitative Programs within the Office of Correctional Education (OCE), an organization that offers 317 various academic and education programs at 35 of California’s adult state prisons. The goal of OCE is to provide offenders with needed education and career training as part of a broader effort to increase public safety and reduce recidivism. Fifteen of its programs involve training inmates on how to become metal technicians and painters so that they can attain careers in the collision repair industry after they have been released.

All adult schools in the CDCR prisons are fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) to ensure the highest level of education. There is currently a wide range of different auto body and paint programs available that are 6-18 months in length, and when completed successfully, graduates receive industry-recognized certifications.

Regional Manager Rob Hengemihle of PPG and Marketing Manager Dane Dearlove from Mike’s Auto Body coordinated the event. With 15-plus CDCR auto body and paint instructors and administrators in attendance, Dearlove kicked off the day with an opening statement. “Our common denominator is training students to work in the collision industry and helping them to build successful lifelong careers,” he said. “We can’t make it in this business by ourselves, so partnerships are essential and that’s why today is so mutually beneficial for all of us.”

After training the CDCR instructors on painting techniques at the PPG Training Center in Concord, CA earlier in the week, PPG’s Regional Manager Rob Hengemihle saw the importance of the meeting. “The instructors had a lot of questions for the vendors and trainers, so we know that a lot of useful information was shared,” he said. “The CDCR is updating their curriculum and undergoing a lot of big changes, and we’re excited to play a role in training these teachers to pass this information onto their students through their programs. PPG is pleased to support initiatives that help provide a pipeline of skilled painters to the collision industry.”

Mike’s Auto Body’s CEO Brennan Rose also saw great value in the meeting. “At Mike’s Auto Body, we understand the real lack of qualified technicians in our industry and have made a conscience and large financial effort to grow our own team members to ensure we have highly qualified technicians to carry us into the future. We are extremely fortunate to have strong partnerships supporting us in this venture as we transform young talented people into organized, efficient, quality technicians.”

Vice Principal of Career Technical Office of Correctional Education Michael Valdez is a former metal technician who oversees the program and supervises all of the auto body and paint instructors. “I know this industry well because I was in it for many years,” he said. “The state needs more and more collision professionals, so we are in the right place at exactly the right time. By meeting with industry leaders and top vendors, we are creating a bridge between what we’re currently doing and what the industry is doing. Mike’s Auto Body is one of the best MSOs in the country, and they are learning a lot about us and vice versa, so it’s two-way learning and these several days of training are invaluable. Our goal is to train our instructors to teach things where the need is the most while creating good habits and copying what companies like Mike’s Auto Body and PPG automotive refinish are doing.”

Leading vendors were on-hand to offer technical information about their services and products, including National Accounts and Industry Relations Manager Chris Springer from SATA; Territory Manager, Northern California/Northern Nevada Kristen Meehan from Western States Marketing; Senior Account Representative Dennis O’Keefe from 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division; Owner of Precision for Collision Joel Smith and Marketing Rep Chuck Leedy from PDX Marketing that represents Iwata and SEM.

CDCR’s Superintendent of Correctional Education Shannon Swain was appointed Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr. last October after serving as deputy superintendent since 2014. She was a subject matter expert of correctional education at Synergy Correctional Technology Services 2012-2014 and served in several positions at the CDCR Parolee Educational Programs, operated by the Contra Costa County Office of Education 1989-2012, including principal, program manager, project coordinator and teacher.

Swaim outlined three main things that she and her department want to achieve as part of a long-term plan. “Educating these inmates in collision repair is both fantastic and appropriate, and our overall goal is to help our students to thrive,” she said. “The first thing we want to do is embrace technology, which means we want to improve our infrastructure and have full wireless connectivity in every prison. During the last two years, we have worked to invest in the right tools for our auto body and paint programs, from paint booths to paint guns and all of the tools and equipment required.

“Second, we want safety to be paramount for both our teachers and our students and adhere to all of the state codes and requirements,” she said. “And third, we want to set up our students for good careers with excellent wages by training our teachers how to exhibit pro-social behavior. That includes fostering great customer service, good attitudes, open communication and a work ethic, so that they can learn the skills they need to excel. California is leading the way in prison education, so we also want to show the rest of the world what we’re doing and hopefully getting them onboard as well.”

Originally appeared in Autobody News 

On Oct. 8th at the Back 40 Texas BBQ restaurant in Pleasant Hill, CA, 50 people were on hand to celebrate Mike’s Auto Body’s very first Metal Technician Training Program Graduation.

Francisco Cruz, Ronnie Algood, Patrick Wolfe and Jared Marvin have completed the training and the mentoring program and are now on their way to becoming full-fledged journeymen technicians.

By working closely with their mentors for the past two years, these four graduates are poised and prepared for the future. Special thanks to the mentors who helped these graduates to get to the next level, include Rick Moe, Oscar Hernandez, Jason Tebbit, Gene Duncan and Cameron Lewis.

Owner Mike Rose was delighted to see the company’s first class as it progresses and grows as they pursue careers as Metal Technicians. “We began discussing this idea 10 years ago, so this is very satisfying,” he said. “We really had no choice, because finding good technicians had become problematic. These four guys have worked hard and made a commitment to this program and we will have many more doing the same as we enter our fourth year of our in-house training program.”

Marketing Director Dane Dearlove spoke to the attendees. “We are making history tonight, so we want to sincerely thank all of our new technicians and their mentors. Their journey is not over and the learning will never stop, but now they have great jobs and hopefully long careers in this industry. They are now ready to learn even more and refine their skills, in order to eventually become journeyman metal technicians.”

CEO Brennan Rose also spoke to the assemblage and explained the program’s genesis. “Three years ago, we started this program, because no one was coming into the industry,” he said. “Our goal was to create journeymen and train them our way of doing things and this is exactly what we’ve done. There were some trials and tribulations along the way, but developing by the program, it’s become an integral part of what we’re doing at Mike’s Auto Body.”

The training program’s Head Instructor Lupe Algood has been the driving force behind the company’s Metal Technician Training Program. “These guys are still standing and all have attained the skills they need to reach their goals,” he said. “There is no stopping now! Thanks for the Rose family and everyone at Mike’s Auto Body who gave me a chance to be involved in this program. I am proud of what we’ve achieved and see a great future for this program.”

IT Director Rick Rehm has played a role in the training program since day one, so he is happy to see that the four graduates have completed their mentoring and are ready to continue their employment at Mike’s Auto Body. “They completed six months of classes and worked with mentors for two years, so they are well on their way to becoming journeymen technicians. They now have lucrative jobs and hopefully long careers here and I’d like to congratulate them all.” 

Some Benevolence cars are used by their recipients for many years as a reliable form of daily transportation while others eventually sell them or give them to family members. Either way, the vehicle helps these families and individuals to enhance their lives while setting them up for success.

In this scenario, Cassidy Nolan and his wife Jillian and their two children (now three) drove their completely refurbished 2015 Chrysler 200 from Mike’s Auto Body until their family increased in size, requiring a larger vehicle. “We now have a third child, Colt Maximus Nolan, so we had to get a bigger car, so now we have a 2016 Ford Explorer,” Cassidy explained. “But without the money we received for the sale of the Chrysler, we never would have been able to acquire our new vehicle.”

“When we got the car from Mike’s Auto Body, it offered us mobility and enabled us to achieve so many things that wouldn’t have been able to do,” he said. “We were able to go on a couple family vacations because of that car, so it definitely improved our overall quality of life. We were able to visit family in Chico, CA and also visited the Monterey Aquarium. It also gave us financial support, so that we could get to the next level when the time came.”

At the time of the presentation,  Cassidy was a student at Napa Valley Community College (NVC) student, but now he is enrolled at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, where he is currently taking 14.5 credits. His goal is to graduate in June, 2019, to continue his career in real estate. He is also the Social Media Director of Cal’s Veteran’s Club, a position he also held at NVC while he was attending there.

The day when the Nolan family received their Benevolence car will always be remembered as a special experience for many reasons. “We found out that Jillian was pregnant two days before, so we were obviously thrilled. In addition, I received the 2016 Veteran of the Year for the 4th Assembly District during that same time, so it was a phenomenal moment for many reasons.”

It marked the 60th vehicle that Mike’s Auto Body has given away as part of its 16-year-old Benevolence Program and a great start to kick off that year’s program.  Nolan was sponsored by the Pathway Home in Napa that provides veterans with educational, professional and clinical support designed to enhance their lives following military service. Eight technicians at Mike’s Auto Body also donated all of their time to refurbish the vehicle.  

In addition to the refurbished vehicle, the Nolan family also received one year of insurance paid for by Mike’s Auto Body and provided by Napa State Farm Agent Melinda Adams. In addition, Mike’s Auto Body also donated a trunk load of gifts for the Nolan family.

Now looking back on the entire experience, Cassidy and Jillian Nolan are both humble and grateful. “This car helped us so much, and one of the best things about it is that I got to see my husband more frequently,” Jillian said. “The Benevolence vehicle gave us something you can’t buy and that’s time.”

Cassidy agrees and we like to thank everyone at Mike’s Auto Body for this unusual act of kindness, he said. “The folks at Mike’s are all about helping people and the Benevolence Program is a prime example of that. A car represents a lot of things–freedom, independence and the ability to have a better and more productive life and that’s what our Benevolence vehicle did. It set us up for success and it still giving, through the use of our new car.”

Originally published in Autobody News 

 

From August 31 to September 3, approximately 200 Mike’s Auto Body employees went on a cruise that was completely paid for by the company. With their significant others and friends, a total of 378 people attending the 2018 Mike’s Auto Body Family Vacation. The ship departed from Long Beach, CA and visited Ensenada Mexico before returning to Southern California, for three days of fun, sun, great food and good times!

CEO Brennan Rose is proud of the fact that his family business cares about its people and that the Mike’s Auto Body Family Vacation is a piece of that approach. “We enjoyed spending time with our Team members outside of work and we really appreciate all their hard work and effort through the years. It is because of our loyal, dedicated, hardworking Team Members that we are able to go on trips like this.”

CFO Ragen Ortland said “This is the third company cruise we have done and as always it was great time. Being able to spend time with our employees outside work and getting to know their spouses better is always the upside to this event.”

Director of Marketing Dane Dearlove shared his views about Mike’s Auto Body Family Vacation and how it positively impacts the company culture at Mike’s Auto Body. “What a wonderful and thoughtful gesture it is to work for a family that is willing to take all of us on a three-day cruise to Mexico. On top of that, we allow employees to bring spouses or significant others to make it even more special. It shows how important the concepts of “team” and “family” are to all of us.  You spend a huge amount of your life at work, away from your family. What starts at the top in our organization, is the belief that we are one big family at work, and when we can, make sure we let the spouses or significant others know how grateful we are to have their loved ones work for us.  It shows that we all care about each other, we care about the quality of our work, and we care about our customers.”

Property/Compliance Manager Jennifer Harriman sees that the vacation is a team-building event. “The cruise is a great way to get the MAB Team all together enjoying some fun in the sun. The Rose family appreciates us for our work and dedication and is shows. It is nice that everywhere you go on the ship you run into someone you know (at least in my case since I have been here 20 years).”

Tanya Marvin in Accounting loved the cruise for several reasons. “I am honored to work for a company that shows such appreciation for their employees, so much so that they book an all-inclusive paid vacation on a Cruise to Ensenada! I believe the MAB team was 1/3rd of the boat! During the “Meet and Greet” event the owners (The Rose Family) personally thanked the staff for all their efforts and acknowledged how challenging their jobs are and the industry no less as it ever changes with insurance compliances. Everyone works very hard here at Mikes Auto Body and to have a few days to let your hair down, sit at the pool and get to know people on a more personal level was amazing! We enjoyed the cruise very much, the food, the drinks, the pool and music; it was just what we needed!”

Manager in Fairfield Cory Flies had a memorable time at the 2018 Mike’s Auto Body Family Vacation. “It builds camaraderie and provides us with a chance to build relationships with our fellow team members outside of work. The owners are awesome people and I’d like to thank them for an amazing experience.”

Manager in North Broadway, Walnut Creek Sam Arvizu used the vacation as an opportunity to unwind and relax. “It was all about the food, the pool and the hot tub and visiting with our peers and co-workers that we don’t always get to interact with. This is my second cruise and it is always a really good time. I have been working at Mike’s for almost 25 years now and very proud of it!”