Kevin Ellison Retires After Four Decades of ‘Doing the Right Thing’

by Alana Quartuccio

Kevin Ellison based his entire career on simply “doing the right thing.” No matter what the role – manager of dealership body shops, active member of ABAT’s Board of Directors or mentor and friend – Ellison’s dedication and commitment have always shone through.

Earlier this year, he made the decision to enter into retirement. He may have stepped away from the body shop and association work, but Ellison’s lifelong commitment to the industry will never falter as he’s inspired, mentored and friended many along the way to do things right.

“I really just wanted to be the guy who did the right thing,” Ellison humbly reflects. “I think one of the things I did best was build a good team around me, wherever I was. I always wanted to attract people who shared my desire to do the right thing because it was just the right thing to do.” 

To Ellison, success wasn’t measured by numbers. His shops were always busy; surrounding himself with like-minded folks led the operations to maximize business, but he’s most proud of the culture and teams he built along the way. Recognition and winning awards was never important to him.

It’s surprising to learn that someone who devoted so many years to an industry initially didn’t have an interest in pursuing a career in collision repair. 

“I’m second generation. My father, Harold Ellison, was very well respected in the industry.” The young Ellison spent summers working with his father and later went on to college with “no intention of getting into the collision repair industry.” But then, like it was just meant to be, “I looked up one day in need of a job, and I went where I was supposed to be all along.” 

His first industry role was as an estimator working for a few different shops. He went on to spend the majority of his career managing body shops at different dealerships. “My first manager job was at North Central Ford where I worked for a wonderful family for a few years. Most of my career was spent working for dealerships, mostly Ford stores. Before I retired, I was with Westway Ford in Irving for seven years. Prior to working for Westway, I was with Bob Tomes Ford in McKinney for 15 years.” 

When Ellison heard an auto body association – the early formation of ABAT – was working to get off the ground in East Texas, he answered the call by gathering up a few fellow like-minded body shop managers to attend a meeting in Dallas. 

“I went to that first meeting with the thought that if it was just simply a bunch of shop owners getting together to bash insurance companies, I was probably not going to be interested. But what I found were some very articulate, intelligent individuals who shared the same passion and wanted the same things I wanted for the industry.” 

At that point, Ellison had been in the industry long enough to see changes taking place that were not in favor of collision repairers, and he believed, “A unified voice was needed.

“In my early years, I felt that shops had some semblance of control over the repair process. I felt like we controlled that, and we were paid accordingly by insurance companies. But through the years with the onslaught of DRPs, we saw so many changes that did not benefit collision repair.”

He believed the industry sold out. “Everybody started doing whatever they could to get on DRPs, whether that be based on parts discounts, labor discounts or parts usage.” 

The need for one voice is what sparked his interest in the developing association. “I recognized this was an organization interested in advancing knowledge and communication among shop owners. Even though I was a seasoned veteran at that time, I was not fully aware of some of the issues addressed during that first meeting. I was excited about sharing that information. It became ABAT’s mission statement to educate everyone in the industry. 

Not too long after, ABAT sought to build a chapter in Dallas, and Ellison was nominated to serve on the Board of Directors. It’s a role he maintained until his retirement.

He was instrumental in bringing Jill Tuggle on board as ABAT’s executive director. “I first met Jill when she worked on a route for a wheel repair company. She was always willing to get her hands dirty and do whatever the job demanded. I got to know her in her early years and saw her progress from running a route to becoming a marketing person.” Tuggle came on board to run a marketing program for one of his shops, and “it was exactly where she needed to be.” 

When ABAT took off and there was a need for someone to steer the ship, Ellison nominated Tuggle. “Oddly enough, she said, ‘No,’ but I told her I didn’t think that was the right answer. She eventually accepted, and she’s done an amazing job in that capacity.” 

Tuggle credits Ellison “as a big part of my growth and success in this business. Not only has he acted as a friend to me, but also a mentor. Kevin offered me a part-time job many years ago that was profound in two ways: I loved my current job so much that I initially declined interviewing for the position he had. That’s when Kevin said, ‘I’m not gonna let you off that easily. I want you to at least hear me out.’ I did, and I’m so glad that I heard him out, because not only did I take that job, but it sparked something inside of me that made way for me to create an entire business of it. That’s where my entrepreneurial journey began.”

Tuggle admits she turned the role down when Burl Richards approached her about the position with ABAT, but then, “I heard Kevin’s voice in my head from the day he asked me to at least hear him out, so that’s what I did with Burl. Once again, I was so glad that I did because as you can see, the rest is history.

“Personally, he has always walked alongside me through many of the pivotal moments in my life,” Tuggle continues. “He has watched my kids grow and walked along some of the harder things in life with me like the death of my dad. Kevin has always been a phone call away, whether I had car trouble or I was gutting a deer by myself for the first time. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have a friend and mentor like Kevin. I’ve met a lot of good men in my life, and Kevin Ellison is at the very top of that list.” 

Retirement had been on Ellison’s mind for some time as “I’m an old country boy at heart, and I was getting tired of the metroplex and the rat race. I’m 64 now, and I planned to work three more years, and my wife and I planned to move to the country.”

Then this past April, Ellison suffered heart failure when the lower part of his heart quit working. After spending weeks in hospital, followed by physical therapy and more recovery at home, he fought his way back, but his decision was made. 

“I just recognized from reflection and prayer that I had given 40 years of my life to an industry that has been good to me, but it’s very time consuming. Working 60 hours a week and being responsible for a shop and employees, as much as I love it, had really taken its toll.” His health made him “step back and realize none of us knows how much time we have left. I anticipate living a long life, but I made the determination that whatever time I have left, I want to spend it with my family and not on a 60-hour work week.”

He, his wife and their 14-year old grandson moved to a small town of Albany. He’s enjoying relaxing, some golf, taking his grandson to activities and most important “not getting up at 4:30 in the morning.” 

Ellison admits he’ll miss the people and the relationships he made the most. “At the end of the day, it’s another wrecked car we have to fix, but it’s about the relationships you build.”

Want more? Check out the December 2025 issue of Texas Automotive!