DIAMOND BAR, Calif. — The results of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) board of directors election are final. SEMA, has elected three newcomers and re-elected seven incumbents into office on its board of directors.

Corky Coker, president of Coker Tire Co. Inc., Chattanooga, Tenn., and chairman of SEMA, officiated at the association’s annual Installation Banquet, which took place on Friday, July 30, at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel and Spa in Pasadena, Calif. This marks Coker’s second year of his first term as chairman of SEMA.

New to the SEMA board representing the manufacturers category is Dick Hill of Centerforce Clutches in Prescott, Ariz. Hill brings 35 years of automotive industry experience to the SEMA board and has served on several SEMA committees. He has been honored with various industry awards, including the PWA 1998 Person of the Year.

Re-elected incumbents to the SEMA Board of Directors in the manufacturers category are Matt Agosta, president of Steele Rubber Products, Denver, N.C.; Jim Cozzie, vice president, sales, for B&M Racing and Performance Products, Telford, Pa.; Rick Rollins, national sales/marketing manager for Superchips Inc., Sanford, Fla.; and Russell Stephens, sales manager for MSD Ignition, El Paso, Texas.

Ralph Accinno, owner and president of Racers Equipment, East Providence, R.I., will serve as the newest member of the distributor/retailer category on the SEMA board. Accino is no stranger to the SEMA board, having previously served on the board for three terms as well as numerous SEMA committees.

Re-elected incumbents continuing on the board from the distributor/retailer category are Kathy Bybee-Hartzell, business development manager for CollectorCarTraderOnline.com, Virginia Beach, Va.; Patrick Judge, executive vice president of Keystone Automotive Operations Inc., Exeter, Pa.; and Jon Wyly, vice president of Arrow Speed Warehouse, Kansas City, Kan.

Winning the one open seat on the board in the manufacturers rep category is Steve Swanson, vice president of sales for Foster-Babcock & Associates, Kansas City, Mo. With 32 years of experience in the automotive industry, Swanson has served on the SEMA Representative of the Year Committee as both committee member and chairman in a manufacturing capacity, and presently holds a seat on the Manufacturers Representative Select Committee. Swanson’s agency, Foster-Babcock & Associates, also received the SEMA Manufacturers Rep of the Year Award in 2000.

Directors continuing on the SEMA Board are Joel Ayres, sales and marketing manager for Leer/Truck Accessories Group, Woodland, Calif.; Paul “Scooter” Brothers, director of research and development for Competition Cams, Memphis, Tenn.; Dennis Gage, president of Bradley David Productions, Evansville, Ind., and host of the TV show My Classic Car; Todd Gartshore, co-owner of Baer Inc., Phoenix, Ariz.; W.A. “Butch” Lahmann, CEO of Walcorp Inc., Northport, N.Y.; Chuck Lombardo, president of California Street Rods Inc., Huntington Beach, Calif.; Dennis Overholser, vice president of product development for Painless Performance, Fort Worth, Texas; Bill Perry, president of Bill Perry & Associates, Carrollton, Ga.; Robert Price, CEO of Reliable Automotive, Overland Park, Kan.; Anne Thomas, owner and president of SECO Performance Centers, Birmingham, Ala.; Bob West, vice president of sales and marketing for Westin Automotive Products Inc., Irwindale, Calif.; and Jeep Worthan, vice president of sales and marketing for Auto Meter Products Inc., Sycamore, Ill.

Mitch Williams, founder of Vehicle Performance Systems, Inc. of Peachtree, Ga., and national sales development manager of Ansa Automotive Parts Distributors in Macon, Ga., returns as chairman-elect. He will be installed as the chairman in 2005. Williams, a member of the SEMA board’s Executive Committee, was honored as SEMA Person of the Year in 2001 and has served on SEMA task forces including Lighting, Congressional, International and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) Relations. Williams authored the 2002 SEMA report “Introduction to Quality Systems” about implementing Quality Systems.

Doug Mergenthaler, CEO of Kodiak Products, Seattle, Wash., continues on the SEMA Board of Directors as treasurer.

Christopher J. Kersting, CAE, is president and CEO of SEMA.

To honor and celebrate individuals who have supported the development and growth of the specialty equipment industry, SEMA developed the SEMA Hall of Fame in 1969. However, the honor was originally named the Paul Schiefer “Old Timer’s” Memorial Award in honor of the award’s first recipient, Paul Schiefer. The award came to be known as the SEMA Hall of Fame in 1986 and new inductees are introduced each year at the SEMA Installation Banquet.

This year’s SEMA Installation Banquet was held Friday, July 30, at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel and Spa in Pasadena, Calif. The 2004 inductees – Bob Keller of Turbonetics Inc., Simi Valley, Calif.; John Simmons of SECO Performance Centers, Birmingham, Ala.; Charlie Van Cleve of Hedman/TD Performance, Cerritos, Calif., and Jim Wirth of Wirth & Wirth Advertising, Xenia, Ohio – were honored during the gala.

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