BETHESDA, MD — The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) reported this week that a record number of people — 380 to be specific — converged upon Huntington Beach, Calif., last week to attend AAIA’s Spring Leadership Days. Volunteer board and committee members, VIP guests and professional staff participated in 28 group meetings and eight social events during the three-day program.
Formerly called the AAIA Board & Committee meetings, the new AAIA Leadership Days are held in April and September. This year’s program included a Volunteer Recognition Luncheon that recognized outgoing board members and current committee chairs. New to the program and all future Spring Leadership Days is a “State of the Association Address” delivered by Kathleen Schmatz, AAIA president and CEO.
“AAIA is a volunteer driven trade association and twice a year we gather some of the very best minds in the aftermarket industry – our volunteer leaders – to address the issues that impact our members,” Schmatz said. “There are 450 volunteer leaders that provide the vision and direction for our association. They represent every element of the aftermarket distribution channel as well as the businesses and services that support and serve the channel.”
At the meeting, AAIA announced the election results for its 2005-2006 officers and board of directors.
AAIA’s elected officers of the board of directors are:
* Chairman, David Caracci, Robert Bosch Corporation
* Vice Chairman, Richard Morgan, Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, Inc.
* Vice President, Marc Graham, Synergy Global Business Solutions
* Vice President, Jerry O’Pry, Georgia Pacific Corporation
* Vice President, Gary Perman, RPS Marketing
* Secretary, David Bell, Erie DriveTrain, Inc.
* Treasurer, Tim Lee, LC Enterprises, LLC
* Past Chairman, Michael Moshontz, Blue Magic, Inc.
Seven other individuals were elected to the 31-person AAIA board of directors, including:
* Russ Bailey, Russ Bailey Consulting
* Larry Easterlin, Technical Chemical Company
* Richard Jago, Old World Industries, Inc.
* Michael Klein, Klein Investments
* Harold Krivan, J.D. Power and Associates
* Jon Owens, Babcox Publications
* John Washbish, Affinia Under Vehicle Group
Continuing board members are:
* William Baker, New York State Automotive Aftermarket Association
* Joseph Felicelli, Federal-Mogul Corporation
* John Flad, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems
* Joseph Grobarek, Great Lakes Representatives
* Gary Kremer, Uni-Select USA
* David Machamer, Innovative Solutions
* Joseph Register, Prescient Technologies
* Ira Davis, Forecast Products
* Julie Diehl, The Business Consulting Group/Alvarez & Marsal
* Sean Stanic, Siemens VDO Automotive Corporation
* Tom Swoboda, Ducker, Findlay, Swoboda & Associates
* Ken Walker, Meineke Car Care Centers
* Dennis Welvaert, Mark IV Automotive/Dayco Products
* Skip West, MAXSA Innovations
AAIA Leadership Days committee meetings are open to all AAIA members. The Fall Leadership Days will be held in Reston, Va., Sept. 14-16. For more information, visit: www.aftermarket.org.
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