When the Shield Needs the Sword, a.k.a. YOU!

by Jordan Hendler, WMABA Executive Director

I often talk about the burnout, the endless emails, the constant firefighting, and that heavy weight of “meaningless busy-work” that makes you just want to put your head down and stay confined within your shop’s four walls. It’s easy to shut in and go from urgency to urgency, only minding your “own business.”

But as we experienced earlier this year, there can be a fire burning outside your walls that you cannot afford to ignore.

As a perfect example, legislation like Senate Bill 789 moved through the Maryland legislature. Proposed by an ADAS-segment entity, this bill had all the best intentions at heart. What happens once introduced is a completely different animal.

On the surface, these bills can be framed as simple consumer safety measures. But let’s look it right in the eye: the original language could have been a massive, unprecedented government intrusion into your business.

When issues hit our industry, your association goes to work.

We stand on that mantel as your shield. We review the text, we analyze the threat, and we craft the arguments to protect your livelihood. But a shield can only block the blows; it takes a sword to win the fight.

YOU are the sword.

When we reach out to you – whether it’s an urgent email, a text message, or a phone call – we aren’t trying to add more clutter to your overflowing bucket of tasks. We are sounding the alarm. We are handing you the map to the target. And we need you to answer that call.

Lawmakers in Annapolis, Richmond, Charleston or even Washington DC don’t want to just hear from an association director. They need to hear from their hometown small business owners, the employers, and the taxpayers in their own backyards. They need to hear from you, their constituent, explaining exactly how a blind regulatory facade will destroy local jobs and drive up costs. When a community comes together like this, it stops being a desperate defense. It becomes an unstoppable offense.

If you’ve never engaged with your legislator before, I know it feels intimidating. It’s easy to think, “I’m just a body shop owner; what do I know about politics?” But remember who you are: you are an Educated, Tooled, Trained, and Trusted Collision Repair Professional. You are the expert. The politicians are the ones who are blind to our reality. They desperately need your perspective.

So, let’s break the cycle of being reactive. Let’s put the fire extinguisher down, pick up the map, and proactively navigate this threat together.

If you see the association’s name pop up on your phone or in your inbox asking you to contact your legislator, don’t swipe it away. Don’t assume your neighbor will handle it. Answer the call.

Protect the future of your trade. Stand with us, be involved with WMABA, talk to your representatives, and let’s remind the states that professional expertise belongs on the shop floor, not behind a bureaucrat’s desk.

We cannot do this alone, but together, we can ensure our voice is too loud to ignore.

Want more? Check out the July 2026 issue of Hammer & Dolly!