DIAMOND BAR, CA — Steve Memishian, president of the American Hot Rod Foundation, received the 2006 Chairman’s Service Award at the SEMA Show Industry Awards Banquet held in Las Vegas earlier this month.
“I am honored to accept this very special award on behalf of my crew, simply because it came from SEMA, which has hot rodding in its blood,” said Memishian. “I am also honored because I expected no recognition for what Carol and I felt was something that simply had to be done. You are very kind to honor us.”
The Chairman’s Service Award is bestowed upon an individual who has made a significant contribution to the growth and history of the custom automotive products industry.
A Wall Street money manager by profession, Memishian is passionate about driving period hot rods and collecting information about their legacies. When he and his wife Carol realized five years ago that no one had filmed the oral histories of hot rodding’s pioneers, they decided to do something about it. In 2002, they founded the American Hot Rod Foundation with Steve’s brother Jack, and began a labor of love to preserve and promote the glorious history of American hot rodding. It was in recognition of this important contribution that Memishian was honored by SEMA Chairman Mitch Williams.
Past winners of the Chairman’s Service Award have included luminaries such as Ford Motor Company President and CEO Jac Nasser, Congressman Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Chairman of Crain Communications, Keith Crain.
For more information about SEMA, visit: http://www.sema.org.
