Remembering First SCRS Executive Director John Loftus

by Alana Quartuccio

Last month, the collision repair industry lost one of its most influential leaders when John Loftus, the first executive director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), passed away at the age of 94.

Loftus served as SCRS executive director from the time the national group was established in 1982 until he retired in 2000.

In the words of current SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg, Loftus “left an untouchable legacy of advocacy for collision repairers.”

Schulenburg acknowledged Loftus’ vision which helped build the foundation of SCRS which allows “all of us at SCRS [to] enjoy the opportunity to serve this industry. Our lives are all better because of his ethics, his commitment, his passion and his advocacy.”

Loftus was noted to have been vocal about the need for collision repairers to work together, and that belief is what ultimately paved the way for the formation of SCRS.

Schulenburg recalled SCRS’ 25th anniversary event, in 2007, when Loftus shared the following with the audience:: “We all have the same love for the industry. We all have the same passion. We want things to be better. We want to be respected and have the pride that goes with the accomplishment of our work. We’re good at what we do. We’re damn good. That’s the thing that SCRS gave voice to. We brought that forth. The problems today are different. There are different challenges. But the fact is you have an organization to deal with them. That’s the difference. There was nobody to deal with these things until we came along.”

Jeff Hendler (JD Hendler Associates) said Loftus was a “mentor to me from the time I met him back in 1958 until the day he passed away. He quietly worked to try to resolve the issues of the people who worked in the collision repair industry.

“He had an expression he used often that became the tagline of SCRS for many years: ‘Working together is the most important work we do.’ John earned the respect of every person he met,” Hendler added. “I don’t think he had a single enemy in the whole industry; even those who were on the opposite side of the issues respected him.”

WMABA Executive Director Jordan Hendler will always remember Loftus for his support early on in her career.

“He was so encouraging and became my mentor very early on,” she recalled of her first interactions with Loftus when she was just getting into the industry at the young age of 17.

“John was super supportive of everyone,” she continued. “He’d encourage new people coming into the industry to share. It didn’t matter where you came from or how long you’d been there, he would encourage every single person to develop their voice. And he did that for me.”

Schulenburg noted more can be learned about Loftus and his role in the early days of SCRS online at
scrs.com/history-of-scrs.

“I got to know John when he was an integral part of the NORTHEAST Trade Show’s Leadership Forum. We became very close when Greco Publishing published SCRS’ first publication in the early 90s,” says New Jersey Automotive Publisher and AASP/NJ Secretary Thomas Greco. “John was a man of dignity, class and honor. He had a dedication to this industry that never wavered.”

“I’m so damn proud of what this organization looks like today, because of the tone that men and women like John set in the formative years,” Schulenburg added. “I just hope we can continue to serve his work, his dreams and his legacy well. Rest easy Mr. Loftus. Thank you for everything.”

Want more? Check out the March 2026 issue of New Jersey Automotive!