Among the automotive recycling industry are dedicated professional women who make significant contributions to the success of the business.
By: Coleen Krause
Kelly Reopke grew up in south central Illinois with her three sisters, attending dance classes and riding dirt bikes. Kelly’s parents, (Mike and Kathy Nolan), started Y-Yard Auto Parts and welcomed the girls into the business and so many of their weekends were touring around the countryside submitting salvage bids and purchasing vehicles. On weekends, Kelly remembers waking up early to attend auctions with her father and before she could get her license, she had to perform her dad’s dismantling test in case she were to get stranded or have to chain her tire someday. During her holiday breaks, she helped her father deliver parts and haul the vehicles home from the auctions. Kelly delivered parts, dismantled vehicles, worked in maintenance and even assisted in the office where needed, thereby learning every aspect of the recycling business.
During high school, Kelly worked summers at her family’s company and continued working during summers whilst attending Illinois State University (ISU). She graduated from ISU with a Bachelor’s degree in Education and landed a job as a first grade teacher in her home town.
Kelly Roepke
President, Y-Yard Auto & Truck Parts
Effingham, Illinois
years later, Kelly decided to resign from her teacher position and join Y-Yard while her dad underwent extensive back surgery. Just after one year of working at the company, she decided to make a full-time career in automotive recycling.
As the automotive industry continues to evolve, Kelly has realized that finding, hiring and training employees is a common struggle amongst auto recyclers and would like to utilize her experience in helping the board in those areas. She hopes that she can bring some of her educational skills to the table as a URG board member and benefit the training program and its members.
“I am passionate about education and training. In today’s world, the struggle of finding quality employees is real. When we do find them, we need to make sure that we do our part in educating and training them on how to do the job properly,” explained Roepke.
“More importantly, finding consistency throughout the industry and together with our members we can be stronger and more consistent in what we sell and deliver to the customer, which makes our industry more powerful.”
Currently, she serves on the Curriculum Committee for the Effingham Regional Career Academy where she works with students interested in going into the automotive trades. Kelly was also on the Board of Directors for Crossroads Bank. In 2008, she was recognized by fellow auto recyclers as “the Most Influential Successor’ and the “Most Influential Woman” and has served on many other auto recycling boards.
Today, Kelly serves as the President of Y-Yard in Effingham and is celebrating 25 years with the company, along with her husband, Kevin, and their two children, daughter (Karlee) and son (Connor). Karlee will be graduating from the University of Alabama this year and Connor is playing baseball for Southwestern Illinois College.
For more information on Y-Yard, please visit www.y-yard.com or call 1-800-252-4040 or contact Kelly at autoparts@y-yard.com.
Natalie Miller
Owner, Miller’s Auto Recycling
Ontario, Canada
Natalie is a third-generation family business owner of Miller’s Auto Recycling, which was founded in 1953 by her grandfather. After one brief summer working at Miller’s during high school, she chose to pursue a career outside of the family business and then graduated from D’Youville College in Buffalo, NY with a Bachelor of Science degree in physician assistant studies. For the next six years, she was a physician assistant at Excelsior Orthopedics in Amherst, NY which she said was “incredibly challenging and fulfilling.”
In 2009, Natalie made the decision to return to the family business, which was very challenging with all the changes going on in the industry. She held various positions from human resources, finance, marketing and strategic planning. She notes that it has been a rewarding work environment with their core business auto recycling which includes used parts sales and end-of-life vehicle recycling.
Natalie resides in Fort Erie, Ontario with her husband and their daughter, Sophia and son, Brayden. Natalie is serving as Director of the Ontario Auto Recyclers Association (OARA), Committee Chair for the Educational Programming for ARA and recently completed her term as the Canadian Representative on the ARA Board of Directors. For more information on Natalie or Miller’s Auto, please visit millersauto.com or email natalie.miller@millersauto.com.
Rachel Whestone Ehlers
Co-Owner, Allied Auto Salvage
and Pull-N-Save
Riverside, California
Rachel’s diverse background as a late model auto recycler in Minnesota and a high-volume auto recycler in California gives her a unique perspective of the industry. Rachel is a seasoned and passionate speaker and she believes that enthusiasm is contagious and has the power to shape the future of our industry. Rachel has demonstrated collaborative leadership in her roles for the United Recyclers Group (URG) board of managers, PRP Executive Board, PRP West Chairperson, and Automotive Recyclers Association of Minnesota (ARAM). Rachel is a co-founder of SmartCycle a business intelligence software focused on helping auto recyclers.
Rachel and her husband split their time between California and Wyoming. Rachel enjoys spending time with family, growing her business, golfing, and traveling. She is especially excited that her oldest daughter is showing interest in being a fourth-generation auto recycler.
“It is true that my exposure to the industry started with family ties, but I have never been held back or had to prove myself to my colleagues because my success has been built on hard work and collaboration,” explains Rachel. “The expectations that I set for myself, and others, are not based on gender or family roles. We are truly only limited by our mindset and willingness to do the work. I encourage everyone in our industry to pull their seat up to the table where our industry is influenced, and great innovation is born. The American Dream is still alive and well in our great industry.”
Fran Reitman
Owner, Reitman Auto Parts & Sales, Inc
Melbourne, Kentucky
Fran has been a member of ARA for over 42 years and served on the board of directors and many committees for ARA. One of her most memorable events was in 2009, when she was a chairperson on the ARA University Committee running a “horse-raced theme” for the annual convention in Lexington, KY. The event brought in more than $85,000 for the university website safety training program. Fran has also served as President of the Kentucky Auto and Truck Association, helping improve the “end of life” process for automobiles. She has also traveled the world helping others in the industry understand the importance of safety training in the industry. Currently, Fran is serving on the Automotive Recycling Training Institute Board and the ARA Scholarship Foundation, and she also serves on the Certification committee which supports the Randy Reitman CAR award, and worked along her husband, Randy, and side-by-side with her sons, Nick and Adam (4th generation).
“ARA has given me the privilege of working with and alongside some of the most passionate women and men in this wonderful industry,” Reitman says.
For more information on Fran or Reitman Auto Parts please visit reitmanautoparts.com or email fran@reitmanautoparts.com
LARA – Ladies of the Automotive Recyclers Association seeks to promote automotive recycling as a career choice to women and open pathways to enter and thrive in a fulling career within this business community. LARA also provides networking and educational events, usually held at the annual convention of the ARA. If you interested in participating, contact staff@a-r-a.org to find out more on LARA.
Coleen Krause is co-owner of Speedway Auto Parts, Joliet, IL. She is a marketing and communications expert working previously with Acrelec America, as well as Governors State University and other educational institutions. She has extensive experience building marketing plans and budgets for B2B technology companies within the food,
telecom, and transportation industries.
