The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) will hold its annual election for its Board of Directors on April 16 in which active members can vote.

The election will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle, Washington in Northwest 1-2 from 5:15-6 p.m. Each of the nominees will have the chance to address voters about their background and experience during the SCRS open board meeting from 2-5 p.m.

Non-members can attend the open board meeting, but won’t be able to be present for the election. According to SCRS bylaws, the nomination process closed on March 2, and there will be no nominations from the floor. All candidates on the ballot were proposed by the SCRS Nominations Committee.

The election will fill three open board seats. The candidates are incumbents Todd Hesford, Community Collision Centers, and Andy Tylka, TAG Auto Group as well as newcomers Josh McFarlin with AirPro Diagnostics and Ken Miller with 821 Collision.

Hesford is the director of Mission Viejo Auto Collision and Santa Margarita Auto Collision located in southern California. The operation has been in existence for over 40 years and is family-owned. He began working in the business in 1992.

Over the next 20 years, Hesford confirmed what he had always believed as a young child — he absolutely didn’t like cars, but loved serving people and overwhelmingly grew in love with the industry. Dislikes aside, he learned every day and continues to do so.

Fifteen years ago, Hesford began attending industry conferences with the intent to listen and learn. In doing so, he has made some great relationships in the process. Being able to learn from and serve the collision repair industry through SCRS has been one of the highlights of Hesford’s career. He says he’s grateful to be considered for another term.

Tylka owns TAG Auto Group, which includes 14 collision centers and four calibration, towing, glass, and mechanical shops in Indiana and Illinois.

In 2019, Tylka purchased the three existing locations of Tom and Ed’s Autobody, becoming a second-generation owner and operator. Tylka says his current career focus is vehicle calibrations having established four brick-and-mortar calibration centers named “Midwest ADAS.”

Several more locations are in the pipeline. He quickly became a vocal advocate for vehicles to be calibrated with proper environment conditions, training, tooling, and documentation.

As president of the Indiana Autobody Association, Tylka’s goal for the state and nationally is focused on education, transparency, and empowerment of others in the collision repair industry.

Josh McFarlin, a Florida native, has worked in the automotive industry for nearly 30 years from becoming a Ford Senior Master Technician to roles at Audi, Raytheon Professional Services, and I-CAR. At I-CAR, McFarlin says he played a vital role in shaping industry training standards and worked to ensure every person in the industry has the information, knowledge, and skills required to perform complete, safe, and quality repairs.

In 2019, McFarlin became AirPro’s executive vice president of operations, and last year took on the role of president and COO.

McFarlin has worked closely with SCRS members and board members for more than 10 years on committees and task force projects. He says he would like to take that work to the next level in support of SCRS and its members.

McFarlin is extremely honored and excited for the opportunity to give back to the industry that has given him so many opportunities.

Miller has worked in the automotive industry for 30 years including the last 11 years specifically in collision repair. He has served in technical roles, management positions, and as a training manager in addition to having operational responsibilities. His current role is the owner of 821 Collision in New Jersey.

During his tenure, Miller says he has garnered a comprehensive understanding of industry challenges, which have sparked his desire to be a driving force for positive change.

In his leadership roles, Miller has guided teams in implementing best practices and embracing technological advancements within and beyond the collision repair industry. He says he seeks to be more of a mentor than a manager and encourages perpetual learning.

Miller serves on the Board of Directors for the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers/New Jersey and AASP National as well as numerous advisory councils and most recently as AASP-NJ president.

The election is open to current, designated voting representatives of SCRS member businesses. If it’s necessary to change the designated voting representatives for your company, all changes must be completed in writing using the Designated Voting Representative form and received by the SCRS office before 5 pm EDT on April 5. No changes to designated voting representatives can be made after that time.

Election results will be announced on April 17 during the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meeting held from 8-5 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom.

To join as a member of SCRS to participate in the upcoming election, contact the association office at info@scrs.com or join online at scrs.com/join-scrs.

Images

Featured image: Top row, Andy Tylka and Todd Hesford. Bottom row, Josh McFarlin and Ken Miller. Images provided by each candidate.