As 2016 comes to an end, we thought we’d revisit some of the highlights from the year. Enjoy taking a little drive down memory lane with us (and make sure to check out our awesome infographic with the highlights)!
Winter
Winter Storm Jonas kept us working at home for a few days early in the year, but after the 2015’s Snowmageddon, we were prepared to continue serving our customers, even though we couldn’t get into the office. We also were all hoping we would win big at the Powerball jackpot! There were a lot of great ideas, but none of us walked away with any of the money.
We celebrate anniversaries each month, but February marked a very special anniversary with the company – Margaret Klemmer celebrated ten years with Autoshop Solutions!
And naturally, February wouldn’t be complete without some Super Bowl fun. This year was especially fun because our own Carolina Panthers were playing!
March took us into the thick of trade show season. In March alone, we attended three big shows – VISION HiTech Training & Expo in Kansas City, ATE in Seattle and ATI Superconference on Amelia Island, FL.
Spring
Trade show season continued into April going to the Automotive Training Managers Council in Atlanta, 
Auto TECH expo in Kentucky, and Danny even gave an Opening Keynote at the Virginia Automotive Association’s 2016 Convention.
We also celebrated our new partnership with the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers as their preferred vendor and national benefit provider for website design and digital marketing.
Our team, keeping in line with the season, grew this spring. We’re committed to offer each and every one of our customers the best experience as possible, and we were excited to bring in some new talent.
AutoStream Car Care came to visit us in May, which is always a treat! Having clients in the office gives us an opportunity to go over their accounts and show off our digs a little, of course.
Finally, we got into the season by going strawberry picking! Our team building activities are always so much fun, and this was no exception. We enjoyed the perfect southern afternoon, complete with strawberry picking and a barbeque lunch.
Summer
One of our beloved traditions is celebrating National Cheese Day, and each year the spread gets bigger and better – this year was no different. Another summertime tradition we have is volunteering at Victory Junction with SEMA Cares. Every June, a group of our team members drive out to the summer camp and help the kids build and paint Pinewood Derby cars. The experience is always rewarding, and we love having the opportunity to give back to our industry!
July brought a lot of vacations and our good, ol’ North Carolina weather. Margaret spent some time at the Women in Auto Care’s Summer Conference where she spoke on a panel about emotional intelligence. It was a busy summer, and our usually ‘slower season’ didn’t stop for a moment!
Another great tradition we have is driving just up the road to Durham to cheer on our favorite baseball team – the Durham Bulls! As always, there was plenty of beer and hot dogs, and, even with a monsoon of a rain delay, we had a fantastic time!
Autumn
This fall was an extra busy time for us! We kicked it off with the Annual Autoshop Family Picnic. 
We enjoyed barbeque, games and plenty of fun with our families.
After many weeks of studying and test-taking, our Marketing team completed the Google Partners Specialist Challenge! This huge accomplishment helped us achieve becoming a Premier Google Partner. It’s important for us to make sure our team is always learning the newest techniques and internet marketing trends, and staying certified is one of the ways we do that!
We also had some visitors in the office, which is something we always enjoy! Dynamic Automotive and Ulmer’s Auto Care visited our office in Apex in early October.
In late October, some team members flew to Vegas for the Automatic Transmission Rebuilder’s Association largest trade show of the year – Powertrain Expo – and the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) after that!
It was a busy, but very successful trip.
AutoInc.’s Top 10 Websites were announced this fall, and for the 8th year in a row, we dominated the list! Always keeping up with internet marketing trends, we headed to Internet Summit in mid-November. This is an event that the entire team looks forward to every year, and attendees look forward to seeing us in our scarves! We learned a lot and came up with some great ideas to offer our clients in 2017!
Our longest-running tradition – Danny giving out pumpkin pies before Thanksgiving – was celebrated this year on Facebook Live, and the next day we threw a Friendsgiving of our own, enjoying homemade dishes from all!
Winter…Again
The Autoshop Solutions office is always a holly, jolly place to be during the holidays. From decking the halls to the Elf on the Shelf we’ve affectionately named Sparky, we know how to celebrate the year’s end. Our Christmas party was a blast, as always, and the White Elephant Gift exchange was no let-down. While we usually send Holiday cards to our clients, we chose this year to put that money towards two $1,000 ASA Technicians of Tomorrow Scholarships! We’re so excited to give back and help nurture the future of our industry, and we are looking forward to all that’s to come in 2017! Thanks for a great year!
Autoshop Solutions