CHICAGO – This morning at GAAS in Chicago, Kathleen Schmatz, president and CEO of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), presented Chuck Udell, MAAP, with the Mort Schwartz Excellence in Education Award.

At left: Chuck Udell is presented with the Mort Schwartz Excellence in Education Award by AAIA’s Kathleen Schmatz.

Former director of Northwood University's University of the Aftermarket and current senior partner at Essential Action Design Group, Udell is a longtime veteran of the aftermarket and a tireless advocate for industry education and recruitment efforts.

In February, Udell supported the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) Scholarship Fund by requesting that his speaking honorarium at the recent Mobile Air Condition Society (MACS) Convention in Las Vegas be donated to the fund.

“I am a longtime proponent and supporter of the GAAS scholarships program, and I am pleased that MACS presented this donation to the fund in lieu of my honorarium,” Udell said. “An important part of my presentation, ‘Recruiting and Retaining Winners Instead of Whiners,’ is tips for the development of new talent for our industry through active recruiting at high schools, vo-tech schools and four-year universities, which are the prime targets for the GAAS scholarships.”

The Mort Schwartz Excellence in Education Award is given annually to the person, institution or company that best represents the automotive aftermarket in the education arena. The award is named after GAAS founder Mort Schwartz, whom Schmatz noted was the person to insist that proceeds from GAAS go to education. Schwartz was "our strong friend and advocate for our great industry. He always gave more than he took," Schmatz noted.

Other recent recipients of the award include Northwood’s Jim John and Steve Hoellein of Felt Auto Parts.

AMN Editors Amy Antenora and Mark Phillips contributed to this report.