Get to know Patrick Porter and learn more about his experience, collision care advocacy, and role as an Assured Performance Regional Director.
Patrick Porter jokes that he never had a chance. His family owned Porter’s Auto Body, one of the most established collision repair businesses in Mississippi. After growing up being surrounded by talk of the industry, it wasn’t long before those collision care roots grew into Patrick’s own passion. For the Porter family, collision repair experience not only spans one generation, but three.
Porter’s Auto Body was opened in 1960 by Pat Porter
Patrick Porter became an Assured Performance Regional Director in January, 2020. Similar to his work as an instructor for I-CAR, Patrick views his role as that of a collision repair advocate for providers and consumers. He speaks to Certified Collision Repair Providers on a daily basis, as well as hosting webinars and virtual training sessions.
“One can’t deny that 2020 has been a tough year for a lot of people in this country.” Patrick explains, “I speak with many shops in our Network and I am inspired by the positive nature of our members and how well they conduct business.”
Patrick furthers, “My goal is to make sure that our Network is well informed and takes advantage of the membership tools that we have to offer.”
While Patrick credits his upbringing for leading him toward a career in safe, complete quality repair advocacy, there was a time when he envisioned a different path. Like many people who grow up learning a family business, Patrick went to college, graduated, and accepted a job working in a different field. However, he soon felt the pull of his family’s industry and, in the early 2000’s, changed his career path from medical equipment to collision repair. He knew the timing was right and, since he joined the collision care industry as an adult, he has not looked back. His career changed proved fortunate and he is now well known for his experience.
Professionally speaking, Patrick is very passionate about any position he holds. “My philosophy has always been to work hard and have fun doing so. I make sure that I complete my job to the best of my ability. I also love to give back to the community and consider my work to be an extension of that.”
Patrick equates his work style to the classic tortoise and the hare tale. “I approach everything with a methodical and steady pace. However, once I begin a task, I tend to be a workaholic and have to remind myself to take breaks.”
Those breaks include spending time with his family of six, in Brookhaven, Mississippi. While his work as an advocate and Regional Director keep him busy, so does his home life. “We have chickens, a very large rabbit, way too many cats, and 3 dogs. I like watching sports and gardening. I also ride the Peloton. My family jokes about that, but I love the challenge and have come a long way since I began riding a little over a year ago.”
When Patrick craves inspiration he looks to Winston Churchill’s quote, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
He explains, “I truly believe that our attitude is the biggest determining factor in everything we do. I hope that those who know me describe me as a hard working, motivated, enthusiastic, consistent, and empathetic type of person”
What is the Assured Performance tool that Patrick is most intrigued by? The Certified Repair Option.
“I am really excited by what Assured Performance is going to accomplish! We are providing repairers with a tool to fully document repairs and offer the Certified Repair Option (CRO). I know that we are going to change the industry and I am very proud to be part of that positive change. I look forward to working with all the shops in our Network, including those I have not been able to talk with yet.”