Mike Hawkins (left), owner of L&R Automotive in Arvada, enters a raffle for giveaways with ASA Colorado Associate Board Member Ross Fawcett, of Jasper Engines & Transmissions.
ASA Colorado’s Summit training event and trade show sets new attendance record
By Rob Merwin on February 13, 2020
Denver—ASA Colorado’s annual training event reached new peaks this January with increased attendance as it dialed into technician and management training at Lincoln Tech in Denver.
The event continues to grow in attendance, as it benefits from feedback each year to fine-tune and expand the annual event. Last year’s event hosted 350 attendees and 2020’s Summit, Jan. 24-25, eclipsed that number with more than 400.
More than 400 shop owners, managers and technicians came early for the all-day event that featured Carm Capriotto, of Remarkable Results Radio as the keynote speaker during breakfast.
The Summit offered 25 different class topics to choose from (13 for technicians, 12 for management) and the exhibit hall featured 30 exhibiting companies.
ASA Chairman Bryan Gossel, of BG Automotive, said the event wouldn’t have been possible without its sponsors and partners. He awarded appreciation plaques to many of them, including Lincoln Tech President Kelly Moore, for providing the venue.
Speaker Carm Capriotto presents his keynote speech where he outlines nine top success strategies for the service professional: Culture-Put Your People First; Become the CEO; Customer Service Is It; Processes are Critical and Win Wars; Development is a Sustainable Competitive Advantage; Network to Expand Your Knowledge Base; Run Toward Technology; and Have Fun.
“We been doing this for a few years,” Moore said, “and it’s always amazing to see all the people here who are interested in moving the industry forward. We really appreciate the partnership to make sure we continue to do great things together in Colorado for independent repairers.”
Additional sponsors for the Summit included NAPA, Advance, Bolt On Technology, ATI, WORLDPAC, Kenz & Leslie, Tekmetric, Kukui, Mail Shark, MechanicNet, Jasper, Synchrony, 360 Payment Solutions, and MobileSoft.
The team of Herzberg Smith & Co. exhibited on the trade show floor. Far left is Michael Herzberg Smith, Tammy Tinsley and, second from right, is Kenneth Farber. Herzberg Smith presented the class, “Automotive Aftercare 2030: How to Thrive in Our Inevitable Future.”
While Summit classes on Saturday, Jan. 25, focused on technician, owner and management training, it also featured Carm Capriotto and his “Remarkable Results Radio” podcast show, where attendees participated on his show’s roundtable discussion.
Prior to Saturday’s training, ASA Colorado featured its Leadership Conference on Friday, at Embassy Suites & Top Golf Thornton, headlined by keynote speaker and development coach Bryan Dodge, who led a full day of management training as well as golf entertainment, food and drink.
Closing out the Summit was Saturday evening’s Unser Closing Party at Unser Karting & Events, which featured indoor go-kart track racing.
From left: Brian Reager, of DRiV, discusses his class on ride control at the Garage Gurus’ exhibitor booth with Littleton’s Dakota Ridge Auto Technicians Steve Zadel and Shawn Lucianno.
BY THE NUMBERS
• 405 Registered Attendees
• 36 Lincoln Comps (16 students, 17 instructors, 3 alumni)
• 24 ASA Instructors
• 77 Exhibitors
Total attendees: 506
WTI’s Cecil Bullard has a packed class for his presentation, “No Excuses — Secret to Creating Problem Solvers.” Bullard says that creating problem solvers in your business will help you to have happier employees and free up time to do what you should be doing — running your business.ASA Colorado Chairman Bryan Gossel presents the association’s lifetime achievement award to Dennis Brewster, who had been a longtime ASA Colorado board member and volunteer. Brewster just recently sold his shop.Kukui’s Jimmy Lea presented “Seven Proven Methods of Marketing.”Austin Hatchell, general manager of Scott’s Auto, meets with Porter Perkins, of Podium.Attendees filled the room for Greg Marchand’s “Electronic Inspections: Revolutionizing Your Shop Workflow” presentation. The course examined the challenges and successes that shops experience when installing an EIS.Jim Florman (left), of NAPA Commercial Systems Group, discusses NAPA TRACS with Technician Adam Cuneo, of Japanese Auto Service in Wheat Ridge.Service Advisor John White (left), of Phil’s Pro Auto Service in Greeley, reviews NAPA Tool & Equipment opportunities with District Sales Manager Jeff VonFeldt.Jarrod Alexander, of BG Auto, addresses his classroom for the presentation, “Lean Tech: How to Get the Most Out of Your Day.”Josh Davis (left), executive vice president of sales for Mail Shark, details shop marketing potential and direct mail with Matt Fowler, of Airport Automotive in Colorado Springs.From left: Visiting the Aftermarket Matters booth are Rush Truck Centers’ Kristian Brindisi, Lincoln Tech Education Supervisor Brian Wenk and Lincoln Tech Instructor Andrew Wall.Worldpac Training Institute’s Cecil Bullard catches up with ASA Colorado Mechanical Division President Phil Carpenter, of Avalon Motorsports and Urban Autocare, on the trade show floor.Larry Brown, president of Davis Repair in Greenwood Village, visits with Advance Auto Parts’ Cathy Smith. Bolt On’s Steve Arbakov presents “The Graying of Garages: What It Means to Your Shop,” which highlighted findings of a recent survey that found 50 percent of shop owners will retire in the next 10 years.Mitchell 1’s Ben Johnson taught a class on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and what shops need to know in order to service vehicles equipped with them.ATI’s Geoff Berman addresses a full class on recruiting and retaining employees, and how different generations have different work values.Andy Tirado, of Tirado Professional Services, offers insights into common light diesel engines.Industry trainer Lonnie Horn teaches “Advanced Alignment Diagnostics,” sponsored by Carquest Technical Institute.
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