Chris Gardner, AASA vice president, 0perations, was presented with an award of recognition for 25 years of Outstanding Leadership of the AASA Technology Council today, at the AASA Fall Technology Conference. The presentation was made by Pricedex CEO Terence O’Reilly, on behalf of the AASA Technology Council membership
“Chris Gardner is one of those very special people who never stop caring, and can maintain enthusiasm and commitment over the long term. When your objective is the betterment of an entire industry, this is not a ‘sprint’, it is a ‘marathon’. Chris Gardner has been producing and coordinating excellent knowledge-sharing Technology Conferences for 25 years. He has done this with tremendous dedication, is always the definitive ‘gentleman’, and just an eminently likeable person. He consistently does honour to the AASA and our industry, and the membership did not want this special milestone to pass without recognizing Chris, and expressing our respect, admiration and appreciation,” said O’Reilly.
The Award of Recognition was given to Gardner on behalf of 25 years of grateful ATC attendees, “for providing thoughtful guidance, for inspiring excellence, and for leading the Council with “honor, commitment, and integrity.”
“While we have not participated in this conference as long as Chris has,” O’Reilly commented in his tribute address. “We have participated for over 20 years, and have watched, under Chris’ stewardship, the growth of this conference to one of the most meaningful and important conferences in the North American automotive aftermarket today, bringing together technologists, practitioners, and executives from across the manufacturing community to exchange knowledge and share ideas relevant to the advancement of the use of business technologies to effectively improve the efficiency and competitiveness of our industry. On behalf of 25 years of grateful members, we are very pleased to present you with this recognition of the truly important leadership role you have played over these years.”
The presentation was held online in a web conference setting, as attendees of the conference were forced to vacate the conference being held in Clearwater, Florida, due to the onset of Hurricane Ian, which caused a mandatory evacuation up and down the Florida Gulf Coast.
