Caliber Collision’s Changing Lanes program is set up to help military personnel transition back into civilian life through work in the automotive industry. Accudraft is proud to have been Caliber’s choice when it came to their paint booths for this program. In May of 2023, we were able to visit their training center and not only tour the facility but speak to several of the program members.
Among the trainees is phase one Instructor Everett Ritenour. We interviewed him on location as he explained the benefits he sees firsthand from the program and how it can help others in the military. Watch and read his story below!
Jeremy Winters, Content Creator at Accudraft, starts the video off by introducing Everett Ritenour, stating, “Here at the Changing Lanes program, we’ve got one of the instructors. This is Everett. He was in the military himself. I want you to hear it directly from him—just some of the advantages of what he sees being in the military and being out and just being able to help some of the personnel here.”
Everett Ritenour tells Jeremy that he is currently the phase one instructor at the Changing Lanes academy. Previously, he served almost nine years in the military before medically retiring. When he got out, he felt the transition into the civilian world was scary, as if entering the unknown. Being in the military was the only life he knew as an adult, and the thought of becoming a functioning member of society again was a bit intimidating. He didn’t know how his life would be or if he would ever be able to work again.
Thankfully, he found Changing Lanes. The program taught him a set of skills and tools to do a job, as well as provided him with a sense of purpose after the military. Everett said to Jeremy that if he knew he was going to work right after retiring from the military, it would have made the transition to civilian life a lot easier and would have taken the stress out of it.
Accudraft could not be prouder to have our booth installed in a space with such a great purpose. We installed our flagship downdraft Titan booth in their shop, with a custom graphic on the side designed for the program. With the proper ongoing maintenance, we know that booth will be helping military veterans for years to come. To learn more about Caliber Collision’s Changing Lanes program, please visit their website here.
