GEICO Teams with Craftsman Auto Body to Present Car to Local Family Nov. 23

One local family will have a special reason to celebrate this holiday season when they receive a vehicle from GEICO and Craftsman Auto Body as a part of the National Auto Body Council's Recycled Rides Program.The vehicle will be presented to the family at 11 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 23, at Craftsman Auto Body, an approved GEICO Auto Repair Xpress shop located at 4 Cardinal Park Dr. in Leesburg, Va.Joe Thomas, regional vice president of GEICO's Virginia operations, said, "We're proud of the combined effort everyone has put forth and are thrilled to be able to donate a vehicle to a well-deserving family. We are all looking forward to hosting the donation ceremony at one of the repair shops where we offer our Auto Repair Xpress program.""Each year, the collision repair industry comes across cars that are written off by either the owner or the insurance company," said Paul Krauss, CEO of Craftsman Auto Body. "Often times these are older vehicles that just need some mechanical and body work to get them back on the road and perfectly safe to drive. Because we believe these cars are going to waste when there are people who really need them, we decided to do something about it."Michael Smith, GEICO auto damage manager, said, "This has been a great opportunity for us to work with our Auto Repair Xpress partner Craftsman Auto Body to give back to our local community. They chose the Good Shepard Alliance of Ashburn to help identify a family who would benefit by having a reliable mode of transportation. GEICO donated a vehicle and Craftsman Auto Body worked on repairs to ensure its safety. We can't thank everyone enough for all the time and effort they have put into this project."GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) - as part of Berkshire Hathaway - is the third-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States*. GEICO provides auto insurance coverage for 9 million policyholders and insures more than 16 million vehicles.As a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group of companies, GEICO is rated A++ for financial strength by A.M. Best Company and ranks at the top of several national customer satisfaction surveys. For more information, go to http://www.geico.com.*A.M. Best 2008 market share data