Bedford, Texas, Sept. 21, 2005 - The Automotive Management Institute (AMI) and the Automotive Service Association (ASA) jointly announced today that Brett Bailey, general manager for A&B Carstar of Riverside, Kansas City, Mo., is the recipient of this year's Gale Westerlund Memorial Scholarship.

Bailey has been in the automotive service industry for six years. He is vice president of the Society for Collision Repair Specialist (SCRS) MoKan, and a member of ASA, the National Auto Body Council (NABC), the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) and the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA). Bailey is ASE-certified and has training certifications from I-CAR, ADP, CCC and Mitchell. His community involvement includes the North Kansas City Breakfast Club, the Chamber of Commerce, Biznet, and Little League Baseball and Football.

Westerlund owned and operated Gale's Auto Center in Blaine Minn., and was a $25,000 Guarantor contributor to EXCEL. He earned the Institute's AAM designation in 1993, and also served on the ASA board of directors for many years. He was an active member of ASA and other collision industry organizations until his death in 2005.

As the scholarship recipient, Bailey will receive $500 to help cover expenses to attend educational sessions and view the latest repair technologies and equipment during the 2005 International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE), Nov. 2-5, in Las Vegas.

"It is a great privilege to be honored by such a great organization. I've looked forward to attending NACE for a long time and will now have the opportunity," said Bailey.

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 131,000 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. 239, or visit the AMI Web site at www.amionline.org.