ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Hahn Automotive Warehouse held its annual national sales conference March 14-15 in Rochester, N.Y. As the company continues to grow, so does the size of this event, which hosted 248 people. Headquartered in Rochester, Hahn has physical locations in 10 states and services 19 states from Indiana to South Carolina. 
The conference gives the company a chance to roll out new marketing plans as well as learn about new products from the 50 vendor channel partners in attendance. This year’s event started off with an uplifting presentation from 1996 Olympic Champion Kerri Strug, who persevered through an ankle issue on her way to the team gold medal. Strug extended her hospitality after the presentation to sign autographs for the entire group. 
The balance of the first day was spent attending a vendor booth show. The 100,000 square feet of space was lit up with auto parts, supplies, accessories, tools and equipment. Staffed by the best representatives in the business, each booth offered a wealth of knowledge and information for the participants to take back to their sales areas and use right away.
Day two started off with an exciting and humorous presentation by Garrison Wynn. Wynn started his career as a stand-up comedian and then set his focus on corporate training. His message of customer service combined with his presentation style made an indelible impression on the entire crowd.
The afternoon brought presentations from four key vendor channel partners – Dorman Products, Tenneco, Federal-Mogul and Standard Motor Products. This was an opportunity for in-depth information to be shared with the group as they prepare for the rush of spring business. Dorman had some fun with the group and hosted a live game of Jeopardy on the stage with prizes for the participants.
During the evening awards banquet, 60 different members of the Hahn team won awards for their sales and profitability efforts in the previous year. Vendor Channel Partners also were recognized for their hard work and achievement, with top honors going to Tenneco this year.
To complete the event, the Mike Futerman Memorial Award is given to a worthy recipient who represents the standards, ethics and beliefs of the company founder. This year’s recipient was Barry Williams from the Nu-Way Auto Parts division.
