AGENTS OF CHANGE

Your voice is your most powerful tool

By ALLISON ROGERS

There are very few things I love more than talking. I thrive on finding conversations on any corner. Chats with my barista? A daily occurrence. Weather-related meanderings with my neighbour? Those are especially frequent. Now and then even my dog tells me to shut up.

Do you like to vent? In all likelihood, you do; as human beings, we all want to be heard. Last issue, Collision Repair publisher Darryl Simmons penned a piece titled “The Tipping Point.” As mentioned in Darryl’s column this issue: the feedback the magazine received was plentiful. Some of the letters could be reworked into full-page columns like the ones we share in every issue. Plenty of the points made in each of these letters were again echoed in others; one of these shared ideas was the belief that to stay anonymous is to stay safe. Now, that fact may ring true—we needn’t look further than the way “trolls” operate on the internet to see the validity of this statement. The computer screen adds a layer of safety.

You’ve likely heard the epic myth of how the Greeks won the Trojan War—you know, the one where the guys hide in the horse they’ve disguised as a trophy for the Trojans, only to dismantle the city from the inside once welcomed within? Unfortunate as it may be, real life—at least life in 2022— does little to mirror the realities outlined in Homer’s epic poem. This won’t be a Trojan Horse situation. Staying silent won’t win you many accolades.

With a background in creative writing, I’ve been trained to avoid every cliche in the book. I could fill this page with a list of overused quotes that would prompt eye-rolls across the nation—and maybe the Trojan Horse paragraph above this one did just that. Regardless, let’s get to my overarching point: I love to talk—and some of you likely do, too. Some of our readers know our office phone number by heart. Others know that my email is always open. So, please: drop a line in our offices. Send myself, or any of our other writers a message. I promise you: as much as I may love to talk, our team is even better at listening. And, no—you won’t see your stories splashed across the front pages of the magazine once you hang up the phone. This call-to-action has no hidden strings, nor is it directed to any one vertical of the collision repair sector. If you have a stake in the industry, we’re always welcome to talk. Collision Repair mag is by your side, no matter what the news is.