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| From left: Denise Caspersen, manager of ASA's Collision Division and recipient of the 2008 AkzoNobel Most Influential Women in the Collision Repair Industry award, celebrates with her parents, Larry and Diana Caspersen. |
By Angie Kilbourne, AutoInc. Correspondent
Each year, AkzoNobel honors women in the collision industry with its Most Influential Women (MIW) awards. This year, at an elegant event hosted by the company Nov. 6 at the Bellagio Hotel, Denise Caspersen, ASA Collision Division manager, took her place among the best and brightest females in the industry. Caspersen has been with ASA for 13 years; she started as the association's research management specialist before moving over to the Collision Division.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of the MIW awards. "For the past decade, the Most Influential Women program has honored women who have enriched the industry with their leadership, vision and commitment to excellence, and the program itself has become a part of the chassis of the industry," said Tim Loden, director of marketing, AkzoNobel Car Refinishes Americas.
| Not ASA's First |
Interestingly, Caspersen was not the first ASA Collision Division manager to receive the MIW award.
In 1999, the first year of the MIW awards, then Collision Division manager Sharon Merwin was honored along with nine other women. |
"Defining Moments" was the theme of this year's award event, and Marcy Tieger of Symphony Advisors told the audience that the key to bringing more women to the industry was to run it like a business. "Fearlessly hire the best people. Harness your diverse workforce as a tool," she advised.
"Do they [young women] believe there is a place for them in this industry?" Tieger asked. She talked with the audience about the influences girls and young women have in their lives today: What do they see in the media and in the world? Who are their role models? Do they believe they are welcome in this industry? Tieger told the audience that the answers will drive the future of the collision repair industry.
In selecting the MIW honorees, AkzoNobel looks at each nominee for three criteria:
• Innovation.
• Takes a stand on issues.
• Recognizes other leaders.
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The Class of 2008
From left: Lillian Maimone, Marco's Auto Body; Denise Caspersen, Automotive Service Association; Gloria Mann, Media Matters Inc.; Judell Anderson, Association of Automotive Service Providers; Rochelle Wicklund, Wicklund CARSTAR Collision. |
Cited for her dedication and determination to improve the industry, as well as her devotion to her family, Caspersen summed up her feelings with this statement: "I think the most beautiful thing about receiving the award is that without this wonderful group of gentlemen - the Operations Committee - this couldn't be possible. If it weren't for them, it wouldn't be me."
Also honored were Judell Anderson, executive director, Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Lillian Maimone, CEO and co-owner, Marco's Autobody, Monterey Park, Calif.; Gloria Mann, vice president, Industry Relations, Media Matters, Inc., Thornhill, Ontario, Canada; Rochelle Wicklund, co-owner, Wicklund CARSTAR Collision, Liberty, Mo.
AkzoNobel continued its tradition of awarding a scholarship of $25,000, in the name of the Most Influential Women, to the I-CAR Education Foundation. The funds will be used for prospective female students pursuing a career in the collision repair industry.
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Nov. 4-7, 2009
