Bestbuy Distributors’ held its Annual General Meeting April 26 in Toronto. The two-day event brought together Bestbuy shareholders from across Canada and vendors from across North America to meet and network.
A highlight of the meeting was the annual gala dinner and entertainment. An award-winning mentalist duo, The Evasons, captivated the audience with their truly unique and interactive show.
Chairman Douglas Squires had the honor of announcing and presenting several vendor Awards of Excellence during the gala evening. Squires stated, “These awards are designed to officially celebrate the vendor community who are instrumental in Bestbuy’s success and growth.”
Mevotech was the recipient of the Horace J. Pratt 2018 Vendor of the Year in recognition of its excellence in service, sales performance and support. Ezer Mevorach and Todd Hack of Mevotech accepted the award.
Other vendor award categories included: The Marketing Partner Award was presented to Baldwin Filters, the Rising Star Award was received by Magnacharge, the Bestbuy Partner Award recipient was Vision-OE/NuGeon and the Cornerstone Award went to ProMax.
The vendor presentations concluded with the William Elton Outstanding Support Award that was posthumously awarded to Dale Devlin for dedicated support, loyalty, contribution and friendship. Mary Devlin and her children accepted the award to a standing ovation.
The newly elected board of directors also were introduced. Bestbuy’s Chair Douglas Squires of Colonial Auto Parts and APM Limited; Vice Chair Gary Thibault, The Partsman; Secretary/Treasurer Scott Anderson, Peterborough Automotive; Brad Nahorney, Sapphire Auto (IDL); Rob Dow, Jack Dow Auto Supplies; Doug Wilson, Fat Guys Auto Parts; Robert Therrien, Temlac Ltee.; and Andre Dimopoulos, Dorval Auto Parts.
In addition, the Bestbuy board of directors presented its annual contribution in support of the SickKids Family Heart Centre, which is among the top three pediatric heart centers in the world. Dr. Mike Seed was in attendance to accept the $31,300 donation. Bestbuy has been supporting this worthy cause since 1986 and has contributed $847,900 to-date.
The meetings and celebration concluded on Saturday with Bestbuy’s annual trade event at its Mississauga distribution center. It was a full house with 92 vendor companies’ on-hand eager to discuss new business developments directly with Bestbuy shareholders.