STAUNTON, Va. – Federated member Motion Auto Supply, based in Spokane, Wash., was voted the “2011 Small Business of the Year” by the West Plains (Wash.) Chamber of Commerce. Kevin Van Dyke and Tim Trudnowski of Motion Auto Supply accepted the award.

“Kevin and I had the privilege of receiving this award on behalf of our company,” said Trudnowski, president of Parts Wholesalers Inc., which owns Motion Auto Supply. “This is a great honor and a real tribute to our employees. We want to thank everyone at Motion Auto Supply for their dedication to outstanding customer service.”

The West Plains Chamber of Commerce serves the Airway Heights, Cheney and Medical Lakes areas of greater Spokane. The annual “Best of the West Plains” awards honors outstanding educators, community members, businesses and civil personnel in the West Plains. Award recipients are member-nominated and were honored Feb. 10 at a ceremony.

As one of Federated’s first members, Parts Wholesalers Inc., celebrated its 60th anniversary last November. The company began its longtime affiliation with Federated Auto Parts in 1985. In 1986, Parts Wholesalers Inc. purchased its first stand-alone company store, the original Motion Auto Supply, in the Spokane valley. This store location was eventually closed in 1989 but the name continues to be used for company-owned stores. All store locations sell both wholesale and retail parts and accessories and all carry the Motion Auto Supply name.

Today, Parts Wholesalers Inc. is a 100-percent employee-owned company consisting of eight store locations that operate as Automotive Jobbers Supply and Motion Auto Supply. They also supply parts to more than 50 independently owned jobber stores in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana.

“We want to congratulate Tim and the employees at Motion Auto Supply for being named the ‘Small Business of the Year,’” said Rusty Bishop, CEO of Federated Auto Parts. “Motion Auto Supply has always been committed to providing first-class customer service so it is nice to see them recognized for the great job they do.”