Auto glass has historically been a male-dominated field, but the number of women in the industry is increasing. Between auto glass business owners, executives, technicians and shop managers, women do a little bit of everything. glassBYTEs/AGRR is spotlighting some of these women for Women’s History Month.
Heather Grubb, Owner/Technician
Stop-A-Crack Windshield Repair & Replacement; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Heather Grubb took over as the owner of Stop-A-Crack Windshield Repair & Replacement in 2023.
Heather Grubb entered the auto glass industry in 2019 when she left her job as a paralegal to work with her father, Chris, at Stop-A-Crack.
Chris Grubb founded the shop in 1999. When she first joined him, Heather Grubb managed the shop. Before long, she decided to learn how to repair and replace glass, too.
“You can’t give a quote, talk to a customer, or educate them on what they need if you don’t know how to do the work,” she says.
Heather Grubb says she’s proud to have been one of the few women competitors in the AGTO.
In 2023, Chris Grubb signed Stop-A-Crack over to his daughter. Now, Heather Grubb both owns the shop and works as a technician. She showed her skills by competing at the 2024 Auto Glass Technician Competition (AGTO) in Orlando, Florida, where she made history as one of the first women to compete in AGTO.
“It was such an honor to have competed alongside every technician there,” Heather Grubb says. “I look forward to doing it again next year and hope we see more women compete. We are going to take over the world!”
Jaymie Percival, Owner/Technician
Superior Auto Glass; Grand Prairie, Texas
Jaymie Percival competed in the 2024 AGTO alongside Heather Grubb.
Like Grubb, Jaymie Percival didn’t set out to be an auto glass technician. While in school, she started working in a warehouse for a large, national auto glass company.
Once she graduated, Percival moved to the retail side of the business, eventually becoming a store manager. On particularly busy days, she assisted the technicians at her shop.
“Over time, it got to where I could just about do everything myself,” she says.
Percival’s shop eventually closed when a wave of employees quit the company. Since she had hands-on auto glass experience, her bosses made her a mobile technician instead. When Percival wanted to go back into management , she was turned down. Her bosses needed her in the field.
“I became so good at installations they wouldn’t even consider me for leadership positions,” she says. “…I could do a lot of these jobs better and faster than a lot of the men. Nothing scared me.”
Jaymie Percival prides herself on being able to extract and hand-set windshields solo.
Percival eventually left that company and worked for several other national companies before starting Superior Auto Glass. Though she had heard of other women technicians , she had never met one.
“I didn’t meet another female technician face-to-face until Auto Glass Week™ 2024,” she says.
Percival competed alongside Grubb, also leaving her mark as one of the first woman AGTO competitors. She says she’d like to see more women compete in the future.
According to Percival, women can excel as technicians because they’re more detail-oriented and “more willing to finesse the glass” rather than forcing it. Percival also prides herself on her ability to hand-set windshields solo and says she’d love to see other woman technicians be able to do the same.
Patricia Smiley, President
Quackt Glass; South Carolina
In addition to being the president of Quackt Glass, Patricia Smiley also has an MBA.
Patricia Smiley has spent over 20 years in the auto glass industry, spending much of that time at what was formerly Glasspro Inc. in South Carolina before taking on her current role as president of Quackt Glass.
Smiley began her auto glass career as a customer service representative (CSR) and worked her way to roles of increasing responsibility. She also has a master of business administration degree from Webster University, which she uses alongside her industry experience in her role as an auto glass business executive.
“I know [multiple] sides of the business,” she says. “I have the financial knowledge for billing and accounting, I know the service side of the industry to help upset customers and I have sales and marketing experience.”
Smiley says it’s critical for women to understand the technical side of the business, even if they aren’t technicians themselves.
“If you are a woman in this industry, you can cement your place if you gain technical knowledge,” she says. “Being a double threat is absolutely a big flex for women in this industry.”
Sarah Seymour, Co-owner/Recalibration Technician
Seminole Auto Glass; Tallahassee, Florida
Sarah Seymour (middle) says she’s grateful to her husband, Larry Seymour (right), and son, Larry Seymour III (left), for their support.
Sarah Seymour entered the auto glass world when she and her husband, Larry, founded Seminole Auto Glass in 2006, but it would take four more years for her to fully immerse herself in the industry.
Seymour was a manager at a local non-auto glass company before becoming Seminole Auto Glass’ shop manager in 2010. Though she stuck to office management and marketing at first, Seymour became fascinated by Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
Seymour learned how to perform windshield-mounted camera recalibrations and quickly mastered the skill. She put her talent to the test in the 2024 Auto Glass Calibration Competition and came out on top, winning the Grand Champion title.
“I talk to the car; I get to know it before I start working on it,” she says. “I visualize from the car’s perspective when putting the targets up. To me, it’s not just another calibration. It’s a car that needs to see correctly.”
Sarah says she has a well-choreographed approach to recalibrating.
Seymour is still the office manager and marketer for Seminole Auto Glass and says being a woman has its advantages in both roles.
“I think people look at women in the industry with much respect,” she says. “It’s kind of cool because there’s not a lot of us … it’s good for people to see women in the industry.”
More women should get into recalibration, Seymour says.
“There’s no reason why we can’t,” she says. “There should be no difference between the guys and the girls … we need more of us out there.”
Know a woman in the auto glass industry you’d like to see glassBYTEs/AGRR highlight for Women’s History Month? Email abowman@glass.com with a suggestion.
