Virginia Automotive Report E Newsletter for June 2015 The History of VAA 1965-2015 By Steve Akridge In 1964, L.C Miller, Jr. of Roanoke went to Richmond and the Virginia General Assembly to lobby on a bill that dealt with regrooving of tires. He ran up against a well orga- nized and well funded opponent and lost. It was then he realized there were more battles to come, and the industry had to come together with a strong and unified voice. He began recruiting a few dealers, and asked them to do the same; and thus the Virgina Tire Dealers & Retreaders Associa- tion was formed in 1965. There would be many battles to come including one in 1972 over a proposal to tax retread- ing equipment. The defeat of this bill was huge to everyone in the group, and showed the industry why coming together was so important. The word spread quickly of the new organization. Soon other dealers across the state joined, and the Associa- tion found the need for an Executive Director to manage the new group. There have been five over the 50 years. The first was Ralph Howard, who came on board in 1965 and split his time also running the North Carolina association, which had been formed the year before. A year later, the fledging group continued to prosper, and hired it’s first full time Execu- tive Director, Bill Shiveley, who lived in Roanoke, and stayed on until 1974. Don Carl, also from Roanoke, led the Associa- tion from 1974 until his retirement in 1986. Issues involving scrap tires, their environmental impact, and concerns over where responsibility lay began to surface, and the Board de- cided the office would be moved to Richmond in order to be closer to the General Assembly. Brian Daly was hired and ran the VTDRA until 1990. It was during this time our real lob- bying efforts began, and legislation to enact a tire tax for the purpose of scrap tire pile cleanup was introduced and passed. This was also the beginning of the Association’s in- volvement with State agencies and new regulations. Steve Akridge took over in 1990, and remains in that position today. As the industry was evolving, and most tire dealers were getting more involved in auto repairs, the decision was made March 1991 to change the name to the Virginia Tire and Automotive Service Dealers Association to better reflect on it’s members’ core business. The VTASDA continued to be involved at the General Assembly and began to address business issues such as employee training and group pro- grams to save money. In 2004, it became clear our industry was continuing to evolve quickly, and in a big way. Tire dealers were doing considerable auto repair, muffler shops and garages were selling a lot of tires and service stations continued to do everything. It also became clear our lobby efforts, our training and our programs could benefit any au- tomotive business, regardless of what they considered them- selves. At the Annual meeting in 2004 a motion was made to change our by-laws to include other automotive related businesses, and the membership voted on a new name that was more inclusive of who we represented. The Virginia Au- tomotive Association name was adopted, and remains in- tact today. Continued on Page 4 VAA 2015- Colonial Williamsburg: Record Attendance Celebrates 50 Years We could not have picked a better location to cel- ebrate our 50 years of existence than Colonial Williamsburg. It was our first trip to the historic district and the Williamsburg Lodge, and our dealers and suppliers turned out with a rec- ord attendance. It was truly a special weekend which start- ed on Friday morning with 22 foursomes competing for the VAA Open Golf Tournament held at the Golden Horseshoe, and concluded on Sunday morning with our closing Break- fast and Keynote. As our President Bobby Cutchins put it, “we had an all star cast of speakers– something for every- one”. And what a hit each of them was. Dave Crawford, CEO of The Hybrid Shop was our Saturday morning opening Keynote and he gave an information packed presentation on where hybrids have been, where they are going and some of the common misconceptions about the technolo- gy. From there, our owner’s and key managers heard a ses- sion from Chubby Frederick on the important topic of Suc- cession Planning, while our sales and service employees heard Matt Winslow’s Providing Legendary Service seminar. Right after these, Norm Gaither held a Financial Roundtable for the owners and Eric Van Dyck held a Sales and Service Communication Roundtable for the sales and service per- sonnel. For each of these sessions, the room was packed, and everyone raved about the valuable information gained from each one. Saturday evening we recognized our 50 year heritage and heard stories from L.C. Miller III whose Dad started the association and was our first President, Terry Westhafer who was President in 1978 and has served on our Board for 39 years, and Roy Littlefield who we have worked closely with for many years at the National level. Each had some great stories to tell, and gave our audience a closer look at our rich heritage. We then recognized 19 Past Presi- dents who were with us for this special celebration, followed by another Past President. Thomas Jefferson, our nation’s 3rd President. Mr. Jefferson really stole the show with his humor- ous engagement of VAA’s Past Presidents and his tales of transportation in the 1700’s. The Williamsburg Fife and Drum corp then escorted our attendees to the Trade Expo. With 77 booths and over 400 in attendace, the trade expo gave dealers a unique opportunity to interact with the many in- dustry vendors in a relaxed atmosphere. Five lucky dealers also walked away with some cash from our drawings. On Sunday morning, we concluded with a humorous and factu- al presentation from Meagan Johnson called “Zap the Gap”. She really gave us some great insight on the different generations, why each thinks the way they do, and how to better co-exist side by side in the workplace. We certainly want to thank our exhibitors and a very special group of suppliers we call our Sponsors for supporting VAA and our convention effort. Both are listed on page 5. We also had a record number of dealers attending for the very first time. The pictures on the following pages help to tell our story, and what everyone who attends already knows– our conventions are first class in every way and a special oppor- tunity to come together, both dealers and suppliers, to share in education and fellowship. We look forward to seeing you next year at The Homestead, April 15-17.
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Virginia Automotive Report E Newsletter for June 2015
The History of VAA
1965-2015 By Steve Akridge
In 1964, L.C Miller, Jr. of Roanoke went to Richmond
and the Virginia General Assembly to lobby on a bill that
dealt with regrooving of tires. He ran up against a well orga-
nized and well funded opponent and lost. It was then he
realized there were more battles to come, and the industry
had to come together with a strong and unified voice. He
began recruiting a few dealers, and asked them to do the
same; and thus the Virgina Tire Dealers & Retreaders Associa-
tion was formed in 1965. There would be many battles to
come including one in 1972 over a proposal to tax retread-
ing equipment. The defeat of this bill was huge to everyone
in the group, and showed the industry why coming together
was so important.
The word spread quickly of the new organization.
Soon other dealers across the state joined, and the Associa-
tion found the need for an Executive Director to manage the
new group. There have been five over the 50 years. The first
was Ralph Howard, who came on board in 1965 and split his
time also running the North Carolina association, which had
been formed the year before. A year later, the fledging
group continued to prosper, and hired it’s first full time Execu-
tive Director, Bill Shiveley, who lived in Roanoke, and stayed
on until 1974. Don Carl, also from Roanoke, led the Associa-
tion from 1974 until his retirement in 1986. Issues involving
scrap tires, their environmental impact, and concerns over
where responsibility lay began to surface, and the Board de-
cided the office would be moved to Richmond in order to
be closer to the General Assembly. Brian Daly was hired and
ran the VTDRA until 1990. It was during this time our real lob-
bying efforts began, and legislation to enact a tire tax for the
purpose of scrap tire pile cleanup was introduced and
passed. This was also the beginning of the Association’s in-
volvement with State agencies and new regulations. Steve
Akridge took over in 1990, and remains in that position today.
As the industry was evolving, and most tire dealers
were getting more involved in auto repairs, the decision was
made March 1991 to change the name to the Virginia Tire
and Automotive Service Dealers Association to better reflect
on it’s members’ core business. The VTASDA continued to be
involved at the General Assembly and began to address
business issues such as employee training and group pro-
grams to save money. In 2004, it became clear our industry
was continuing to evolve quickly, and in a big way. Tire
dealers were doing considerable auto repair, muffler shops
and garages were selling a lot of tires and service stations
continued to do everything. It also became clear our lobby
efforts, our training and our programs could benefit any au-
tomotive business, regardless of what they considered them-
selves. At the Annual meeting in 2004 a motion was made to
change our by-laws to include other automotive related
businesses, and the membership voted on a new name that
was more inclusive of who we represented. The Virginia Au-
tomotive Association name was adopted, and remains in-
tact today. Continued on Page 4
VAA 2015- Colonial Williamsburg: Record Attendance Celebrates 50 Years
We could not have picked a better location to cel-
ebrate our 50 years of existence than Colonial Williamsburg.
It was our first trip to the historic district and the Williamsburg
Lodge, and our dealers and suppliers turned out with a rec-
ord attendance. It was truly a special weekend which start-
ed on Friday morning with 22 foursomes competing for the
VAA Open Golf Tournament held at the Golden Horseshoe,
and concluded on Sunday morning with our closing Break-
fast and Keynote. As our President Bobby Cutchins put it,
“we had an all star cast of speakers– something for every-
one”. And what a hit each of them was. Dave Crawford,
CEO of The Hybrid Shop was our Saturday morning opening
Keynote and he gave an information packed presentation
on where hybrids have been, where they are going and
some of the common misconceptions about the technolo-
gy. From there, our owner’s and key managers heard a ses-
sion from Chubby Frederick on the important topic of Suc-
cession Planning, while our sales and service employees
heard Matt Winslow’s Providing Legendary Service seminar.
Right after these, Norm Gaither held a Financial Roundtable
for the owners and Eric Van Dyck held a Sales and Service
Communication Roundtable for the sales and service per-
sonnel. For each of these sessions, the room was packed,
and everyone raved about the valuable information gained
from each one. Saturday evening we recognized our 50
year heritage and heard stories from L.C. Miller III whose Dad
started the association and was our first President, Terry
Westhafer who was President in 1978 and has served on our
Board for 39 years, and Roy Littlefield who we have worked
closely with for many years at the National level. Each had
some great stories to tell, and gave our audience a closer
look at our rich heritage. We then recognized 19 Past Presi-
dents who were with us for this special celebration, followed
by another Past President. Thomas Jefferson, our nation’s 3rd
President. Mr. Jefferson really stole the show with his humor-
ous engagement of VAA’s Past Presidents and his tales of
transportation in the 1700’s. The Williamsburg Fife and Drum
corp then escorted our attendees to the Trade Expo. With
77 booths and over 400 in attendace, the trade expo gave
dealers a unique opportunity to interact with the many in-
dustry vendors in a relaxed atmosphere. Five lucky dealers
also walked away with some cash from our drawings. On
Sunday morning, we concluded with a humorous and factu-
al presentation from Meagan Johnson called “Zap the
Gap”. She really gave us some great insight on the different
generations, why each thinks the way they do, and how to
better co-exist side by side in the workplace.
We certainly want to thank our exhibitors and a very special
group of suppliers we call our Sponsors for supporting VAA
and our convention effort. Both are listed on page 5. We
also had a record number of dealers attending for the very
first time. The pictures on the following pages help to tell our
story, and what everyone who attends already knows– our
conventions are first class in every way and a special oppor-
tunity to come together, both dealers and suppliers, to share
in education and fellowship. We look forward to seeing you
next year at The Homestead, April 15-17.
2
www.unifirst.com
www.carrolltire.com
www.federatedinsurance.com
www.parrishtire.com
www.morrisdist.com
www.odtdirect.com www.valvoline.com
www.atd-us.com
PLEASE THANK AND SUPPORT OUR VAA ADVERTISERS
www.forparts.com
www.tirecenters.com
www.demandforce.com/vaa/ www.hotrodprocessing.com
www.premierler.com
3
VAA 2016
Returns to The Homestead
April 15-17, 2016
Southern Charm in the Allegheny
Mountains of Virginia
Mark your Calendar and plan to join us
VAA Board of Directors
President: Bobby Cutchins
Bobby’s Tire & Auto Care, Franklin
Coastal Virginia Region
President-Elect: Scott Brown
Cardinal Plaza Shell, Springfield
Northern Virginia Region
Secretary-Treasurer:Jerry Tatum
Leete Tire & Auto, Petersburg
Richmond Region
Vice President: John Kline
Old Dominion Tire, Midlothian
Richmond Region
Executive Board Member: Mark Anderton
First Landing Auto Care, Virginia Beach
Coastal Virginia Region
Executive Director: Steve Akridge
VAA, Midlothian
Richmond Region
Directors:
Northern Virginia Region:
Myron Boncarosky, MSS, Inc./Va. Tire, Fairfax
Chris Barnett, Tire Tread Service, Fredericksburg
Richmond Region:
Clint Farrar, American Tire Distributors, Richmond
Emmerson Miles, Miles Auto Service, Richmond
Tom McClain, Napa Auto Parts, Richmond
Coastal Virginia Region:
Mike Scaglione, Arrowhead Auto & Align, Virginia Beach
Lynchburg Region:
Eric Hughes, Harris Tire, Lynchburg
Brenda Carpenter, Carpenter Tire, Lynchburg
Southwest Virginia Region:
Matt McCoy, M & M Tire, Blacksburg
Travis Leath, Twin County Tire & Auto, Galax
Bill Hoal, Carroll Tire Co., Roanoke
Shenandoah Valley Region:
Steve Crawford, Hepner Tire, Woodstock
Terry Westhafer, Central Tire, Verona
Tom Jones, Fisher Auto Parts, Staunton
Larry Williams, University Tire & Auto, Charlottesville
Corey’s Automotive Repair Shop, Jeff & Susan Corey,
1969-70 Ray Carr Sr. Carr Tire Service Harrisonburg
1970-71 Robert Dyer Boyle-Swecker Tire Roanoke
1971-72 Jim Caroon, Sr. Culpeper Appliance Culpeper
1972-73 Ray Houchens Ray’s Auto Supply Petersburg
1973-74 John Laningham Laningham Tire Pennington Gap
1974-75 William Board BTB, Inc. Front Royal
1975-76 Jack Bogle Bogle Tire Wytheville
1976-77 Hunter Spencer Service Tire Richmond
1977-78 Randy Stinson Stinson Tire Danville
1978-79 Terry Westhafer Central Tire Verona
1979-80 Bobby Inscoe University Firestone Charlottesville
1980-81 Harry Snavely Freed Co. Waynesboro
1981-82 Bill Mayo Tom Frost Firestone Warrenton
1982-83 Charlie Nelson Settle Tire Charlottesville
1983-84 Charlie Nelson Settle Tire Charlottesville
1984-85 Julian Lipscomb Kramer Tire Norfolk
1985-86 Lynn Bond Bond Tire Service Danville
1986-87 Steve Bowmer Colonial Tire Williamsburg
1987-88 Dave White White Tire Roanoke
1988-89 Jimmy Branscome Jimmy’s Retreading Collinsville
1989-90 Houston Board Service Tire & Battery Front Royal
1990-91 Sonny Pearson Sonny’s Tire Hopewell
1991-92 Joe Thompson Thompson Tire Co. Christiansburg
1992-93 Bill Thompson Thompson Tire Marion
1993-94 Jim Caroon, Jr. Caroon’s Tire Fredericksburg
1994-95 Don Carpenter Carpenter Tire Lynchburg
1995-96 Jim McGlothlin McKelsey Sales Richlands
1996-97 Tommy Harris Harris Tire Lynchburg
1997-98 Doug Webb Webb’s Tire Appomattox
1998-99 Howard Camden H & J Tire Lexington
1999-2000 Jerry Tatum Leete Tire Petersburg
2000-01 Bob Barnes American Tire Distr. Manassas
2001-02 Tony Waugh Myers Tire Supply Richmond
2002-04 David Inscoe University Tire Charlottesville
2004-06 Steve Craven Craven Tire Fairfax
2006-08 Fran Boyd Thompson Tire Co. Radford
2008-10 Dave Kavanah American Tire Dist. Baltimore
2010-12 Larry Williams University Tire Charlottesville
2012-14 Brenda Carpenter Carpenter Tire Lynchburg
2014-16 Bobby Cutchins Bobby’s Tire & Auto Franklin We salute this special group of volunteer leaders for their guidance and vision over the past 50 years.