Cassandra (Cassy) Foy grew up helping her dad – a heavy-duty mechanic and “big car person” – in the garage.

“I figured maybe I’d try auto body. So I tried it in high school and I ended up liking it and kept at it,” said Foy.

Foy has worked as a Refinishing Apprentice at ACX St. James for the last three-and-a-half years, while also enrolled in the Collision Repair apprenticeship program at RRC Polytech.

She learned about the Skills Manitoba and Skills Canada competitions from former coworker Ashley Weber, who won gold in car painting at Skills Canada in 2016.

Equipped with industry experience, skills gained through the Collision Repair program, and encouragement from her manager at ACX, Foy first competed in the 2025 Skills Manitoba competition.

In 2025, Foy took home silver medals in car painting at the provincial and national levels.

“Attention to detail is one of Cassandra’s strengths. She would always ask a lot of questions and get clarification on what she needed to do,” said Mark Klimchuk, Collision Repair instructor.

This year, with her manager’s support, she competed again at Skills Manitoba and took home gold, qualifying her for the Skills Canada competition.

Foy’s training and preparation leading up to national Skills competition focused on her biggest challenge – colour tinting and matching. She worked one-on-one with the paint representative at ACX, spent more time spraying in the booth, and, in her words, “kept doing what I do every day.”

“[For paint matching] we use cameras now – they scan the car, and a computer finds the closest colour formula for you. In the competition, they give you a formula, and you have to use a colour chart to adjust it yourself and get as close as possible manually,” noted Foy.

The hours spent perfecting her colour matching skills paid off. Foy not only took home gold in car painting at Skills Canada, but also received the Best of Region distinction, awarded to the competitor with the highest overall score from their province across all competitions.

Reflecting on the highlight of the national Skills competition, Foy said, “Getting the Best of Region award – I didn’t even know it existed. I was really surprised.”

Foy also fondly recalls the opportunity to meet new people and see different trades in action.

“It was interesting seeing how other competitors do things differently. […] Sometimes I’d look over and wonder if they were doing something right, and then second-guess myself. But you just have to trust what you know.”

Right now, Foy is focused on continuing her career at ACX and finishing school. Looking ahead, she has thought about eventually opening her own business.

“My husband is an automotive mechanic, so we’ve talked about opening a dual shop where I handle body and paint and he does mechanical work.”

Congratulations to Cassy Foy on taking home the gold, the Best in Region award, and for representing RRC Polytech on the national stage.

Visit the Skills Canada website to view the complete list of 2026 winners.