Source: Jason Stahl, BodyShop Business
The National Auto Body Council (NABC), along with Nationwide and Crash Champions, recently donated a refurbished vehicle to a U.S. Army veteran at the Auto Body Parts Association (ABPA) Business Conference at the Westin Hotel in Sarasota, Fla.
Nationwide donated the vehicle, a 2018 Hyundai Elantra, and the technicians of Crash Champions Sarasota fully refurbished it for presentation to David Quintano.
Quintano grew up in a single-parent household and spent much of his early childhood being raised by his grandmother. As a teenager, he became involved with gangs but managed to leave that life behind by high school.
He did well academically despite the challenges, including learning to play clarinet, alto saxophone and trumpet, and has continued playing music to this day. Quintano’s mother became a police officer when he was in middle school, which created tension with his friends and the community. He joined the U.S. Army to escape his personal struggles, and returning home in 1982, struggled with a lack of direction until 1990 when he turned things around and became an EMT. He worked as a paramedic in New York City until he moved to Florida with his wife and daughter, converting his NYC paramedic certification to Florida and volunteering with Manatee County EMS. He worked full-time, while attending fire academy training for Desoto County Fire Department.
In 2021, Quintano went to Pennsylvania to care for his mother, who passed away from cancer in 2023. He returned to Florida to stay with his daughter; however, her apartment was condemned, and Quintano became homeless. With help from the Salvation Army, he now has housing, and Quintano is now employed as a 911 dispatcher. SRQ Vets nominated Quintano for the Recycled Ride.
“It’s going to change my life,” said Quintano at the presentation event. “I’m not big on words, but thank you, thank you, thank you to NABC, Nationwide, Crash Champions and SRQ Vets.”
ABPA, the event sponsor, is a longtime member of NABC. ABPA is a coalition dedicated to serving the collision repair industry with quality replacement parts, backed by dependable service and fair prices. The organization’s goal is to enable the association members to grow their business and navigate the challenges of the alternative automotive replacement parts industry today and in the future. ABPA has proudly included a Recycled Ride presentation in each of its annual conferences.
Nationwide, a level one partner of the NABC, has donated multiple vehicles to people and organizations in need through Recycled Rides.
Crash Champions, also a level one partner, has grown to more than 650 I-CAR Gold locations in just 10 years of operation and has refurbished nearly 250 vehicles to donate to charities and people in need.
Additional partners in the presentation included Advanced Remarketing Services, Cars for Charity, Copart and Enterprise.
