ASA Podcast

ASA Legislative Analyst Ben Sharp interviews ASA Chairman Scott Benavidez on latest developments in the industry on the sidelines of MSO Symposium.

In this ASA podcast episode, Scott Benavidez, AMAM, sits down with ASA Legislative Associate Ben Sharp on the sidelines of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Indianapolis to discuss ASA’s new policy position statement on compensation for time spend researching OEM repair procedures. Scott is the Chairman of ASA’s Board of Directors and owner of Mr. B’s Paint and Body Shop Inc. in Albuquerq...

Dan Stander is the General Manager at Fix Auto Highlands Ranch in Littleton, Colorado.  He also currently serves the Automotive Service Association as a General Director and serves ASA Colorado as the Collision President.  This episode is sponsored by Mail Shark

I am so excited to be welcoming John Firm to the show today. John Firm is an ASA Member in Fort Worth, Texas and owns Firm Automotive. He also currently serves the Automotive Service Association as the Mechanical Division Operations Director. Firm Automotive has been in business for over 37 years and they're known as the go-to crew for diesel and gasoline fleet repair in North Texas. John sha...

I am so excited to be welcoming Brandon to the show today. Brandon Mehdizadeh is the General Manager at LaMettry's Collision-in Minnetonka. He also currently serves the Automotive Service Association as the Collision Division Operations Director. Listen in as Brandon shares: His path to General Manager and the culture they're building, What the ASA Collision Division Operations Committee...

I am so excited to be welcoming Al Oramas, President Pro Auto Care, in Colorado to the show today. Since 1992, Pro Auto Care has been providing the highest quality auto repair services in the Denver metro area. At Pro Auto Care, they believe in serving the community and building a family culture at both their Denver and Littleton locations. Join us as Al shares: How both of his small businesses gi...

Mark T. Allen joined Audi of America as the Collision Programs and Workshop Equipment Manager in August of 2011, responsible for the collision program, electric vehicle service strategy and workshop equipment for Audi.   Mark’s 44-year career in the automotive industry has spanned various areas including collision, insurance, parts, machinist and equipment repair and sales.   Mark holds and B.S. i...

In this episode, we welcome Jeff Buckley, ASA Member from Midlothian, Texas. Jeff is the owner of My Father’s Shop and he is helping lead efforts to give back to high schools around the nation. Most recently, he has donated five vehicles to the automotive program at Vanguard High School in Mesquite, Texas to help automotive instructors train their students.  But it isn't all about the vehicle...

Episode 114 – What’s Now, What’s New and What’s Next at the ASA Podcast In this episode, we pass the microphone to the next generation as Kathryne Buckley-Tessem assumes her role as Director of Industry Relations and the new host of the ASA Podcast. This will be Tony Molla’s last episode as he moves into retirement and introduces Kathryne with an in-depth interview covering her new duties with the...

Episode 113 – Meet Mary Steele, Regional Executive Director of ASA Southeast Region The Automotive Service Association (ASA) recently announced a significant change to their business model, moving to a regional structure and a lower-cost, subscription-based dues model. As of one of the oldest National Associations representing independent mechanical and collision repair shops in the U.S. evolves t...

The Automotive Service Association (ASA), in partnership with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, presents the 8th annual Technology and Telematics Forum as a monthly podcast series. Listen to the first episode in this series, entitled “A Changing Fleet”, featuring industry experts Wayne Weikel and Bob Redding discussing the future of electric vehicles, the legislative and regulatory status of...

Episode 111 – Meet Mike McManus, Regional Executive Director of ASA Great Lakes Region The Automotive Service Association (ASA) recently announced a significant change to their business model, moving to a regional structure and a lower-cost, subscription-based dues model. As of one of the oldest National Associations representing independent mechanical and collision repair shops in the U.S. evolve...

Episode 110 – Julie Massaro Named Regional Executive Director of ASA Mountain Region Julie Massaro is currently the Executive Director of the ASA Colorado Affiliate, but all that’s about to change. ASA recently announced a significant change to their business model, moving from a affiliate-based structure to a regional structure, as of one of the oldest National Associations representing independe...

Episode 109 – The Joy of Hiring Maylan Newton of Educational Seminars Institute (ESi) is a well-known speaker and business coach with a lifetime of automotive industry experience. He’s also known for providing business tips and real-world experience to educate shop owners on best practices to enhance the success of their business. He’s also an author and his latest book, The Joy of Hiring takes th...

Episode 108 – Remembering Bob Greenwood On Thursday, September 9th, the automotive service industry lost one of its most visionary business development trainers when Bob Greenwood passed away suddenly at the young age of 71. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bob’s family at this most difficult time, and we hope they find comfort in the outpouring of sympathy from the many in our industry who were...

Episode 107 - MSO Symposium Celebrates 10th Anniversary The MSO Symposium is an annual event hosted by the Automotive Service Association. It’s content is directed by many of the most experienced, high-growth executives from the leading Multi-Shop Operations, or MSOs in the automotive collision repair industry. Focal points of the event include opportunities to learn from industry peers, acquire k...

Episode 106 – HEV’s and BEV’s: You’re Probably More Ready Than You Think There are few individuals outside of the engineering community that know hybrid-electric vehicles as well as Craig Van Battenburg. As the founder and owner of Automotive Career Development Center (ACDC), Craig is acknowledged as one of the foremost experts on hybrid-electric (HEV) and battery-electric (BEV) diagnosis, service...

Episode 105 – ASA Past Chairman Makes A Difference Bob Wills is the owner of Wills Auto Service in Battlecreek, Michigan. He’s also an Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM), past chairman of ASA and someone who has given much to the automotive service industry he loves. Bob recently ended his term as Chairman of the Automotive Service Association (ASA) and announced his retirement. As one of the cad...

Episode 104 – Electrification: The Next Step With rising concerns of environmental change and the continuing advance of technology, there’s been a lot of talk lately about the impact of electrification and what it means to the average automotive repair business. This episode begins our exploration of what’s now and what’s next in electric powertrains as we talk with Tony Mossuto, owner of Everythi...

Episode 103 – Protect Your Business from the Growing Threat of Ransomware In response to a growing number of ransomware and other cybersecurity attacks, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), together with federal partners, have launched StopRansomware.gov , a website created to combat the threat of ransomware. In this episode, Steven Shipe, Busine...

Episode 102 – Never Stop Learning Steve Wuesthoff is a veteran and owner of PRO-CAT Auto Service in Toms River, NJ. He’s also a World Class Technician with a mission to help other shop owners succeed. From his passion for learning to his commitment to share what he knows as a shop owner and technician, Steve represents the best of the best in our industry. Hear all about it as Steve discusses the...

Episode 101 – Collision Programs Closing at Alarming Rate It’s no secret that Career & Technology Education (CTE) programs at the secondary and post-secondary school level have been struggling, but the issue is particularly acute when it comes to collision repair CTE programs. In this episode, we talk with George Arrants, VP of the ASE Education Foundation, on the rapid decline in collision CT...

Episode 100 – ASA Chairman Plans for the Future In a special ASA Podcast to mark our 100th Episode, meet Fred Hules, the newly-elected Chairman of the Automotive Service Association. Fred steps into the role after working as Chairman-Elect with previous chairman, Bob Wills through the lockdowns and chaos of 2020. But if coping with the pandemic was a challenge, Fred sees 2021 as the opportunity fo...

Episode 99 – ASA-Texas Focuses on Growth In this episode, we continue our conversation with Kathryne Buckley-Tessem about her role as the Executive Director of ASA-Texas. In the second of two podcasts, she talks about how the ASA-Texas Board is focused on growing the membership in the affiliate organization as we all continue to recover from the impact of the pandemic. From creating new systems to...

Episode 98 – Growing Up in the Business Kathryne Buckley-Tessem is the new Executive Director of ASA-Texas. She’s also the daughter of Jeff Buckley, a name many of us are familiar with from his shop video’s. In the first of a two-part podcast, we talk with Kathryne about growing up in the business and how it helped her discover her desire to serve. She also shares her personal story about how she...