AKRON, OH – BodyShop Business magazine has awarded Gary Wano, executive vice president of G.W. and Son Auto Body Shop, Inc., in Oklahoma City with its 2008 Collision Repair Shop Executive of the Year Award.
The award has been given annually since 1984 to a true collision repair visionary, someone who has experienced great success by being forward-thinking, overcoming challenges and persevering.
“Gary is a great choice and received many votes of confidence from his colleagues,” said BodyShop Business Editor Jason Stahl. “He runs a great business and has found a winning strategy for working cooperatively with insurance companies. Plus, he devotes much of his time to improving the industry and isn’t afraid to speak his mind and stick up for what’s right.”
Wano started out in the collision repair industry as a paint technician in 1985. He and his father, Gary Wano Sr., eventually opened their own shop which, aided by strong business relationships with local dealers, grew from 6,000 square feet to its current size of 11,500 square feet. It has also been certified to perform Jaguar, Mercedes, Volvo and Corvette ZO6 repairs. Gary Sr. handles the production floor and Gary Jr. devises business growth strategies.
Ever since the late 1980s when he got involved with local groups and the early 1990s when he attended his first Collision Industry Conference (CIC) meeting, Wano has been involved in improving the industry outside of his own shop’s walls. Evidence of that is his participation in the National Auto Body Council (former director-at-large and current chairman of the PRIDE Committee), Society of Collision Repair Specialists (current national director), Automotive Service Association (former president of the Oklahoma chapter), CIC (past chairman of the Anti-Fraud/Ethics Committee), Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (current member of the Repair Advisory Panel), Fellowship of Concerned Repairers (current president) and the Oklahoma Auto Body Association (current president).
“Ever since that first meeting, I saw the complexities of this industry and the great people in it and saw that it was one of the avenues I could take to make a difference,” Wano said.
BodyShop Business Publisher Jon Owens will give Wano the award at a special ceremony at the International Autobody Congress & Exposition Nov. 1-3 in Las Vegas.
“BodyShop Business is proud to continue the tradition of singling out those in the collision repair industry who make a difference,” said Owens. “Gary Wano is one of those individuals, and we congratulate him on his business success, his invaluable contribution to the industry and his selection for this recognition. It’s an honor for me to be able to present this to him at NACE.”
