Bedford, Texas, April 7, 2004 - The Automotive Management Institute (AMI) announces its call for applications for the 2004 Emil Stanley Merit Award. The scholarship is awarded annually to an individual who works in an Automotive Service Association (ASA) Collision Division member-business and who displays a desire to improve their business skills through management education.

The 2004 award marks the 14th year in which AMI and ASA have honored Emil Stanley with this commemorative management-oriented scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to the applicant who most clearly meets the criteria. The recipient will attend AMI seminars offered during the 2004 International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE) in Las Vegas, Nov. 3-6. In recognition of management-oriented auto body repair professionals, the award provides recipient's travel, hotel, NACE registration and tuition.

To be eligible for the award, the following requirements must be met: applicants must work in the collision repair industry; must demonstrate an interest in self-improvement through management education; must own or work for a business that is an ASA member in good standing; and, if the applicant is not the business owner, must be recommended by the business owner. AMI Trustees and their employees, and the Emil Stanley Scholarship Selection Committee and their employees are not eligible to apply.

ASA established the Emil Stanley Merit Award to honor Mr. Stanley's lifelong contributions to the automotive service industry. Publisher of Automotive Body Repair News (ABRN) until his death in 1989, he was a strong advocate of NACE and of professionalizing the automotive repair industry. The 2004 scholarship is made possible by commitments from ASA to AMI's resource development effort - EXCEL.

To request a scholarship application, call AMI at (800) 272-7467, ext. 239, or fill out a scholarship application online atwww.amionline.org.Applications must be received by AMI on or before Aug. 20, 2004. The scholarship recipient will be notified by AMI on or before Sept. 10, 2004.

AMI was established to answer the demand for continuing education tailored specifically for the business needs of the automotive service industry. The Institute offers the Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation, the first business management accreditation exclusively for the automotive service professional. To date, AMI programs have attracted more than 117,000 enrollments throughout North America. AMI is a not-for-profit educational foundation to which tax-deductible contributions can be made. For more information about the Institute, its curriculum, or EXCEL, please contact AMI at (800) 272-7467, ext. 233, or visit the AMI Web site at www.amionline.org.