Building on its momentum from last fall’s theme #iamvast #youarevast #wearevast, the Vast-Auto and OttoFran family held the 2017 edition of the annual convention at the Hilton Lac-Leamy in the Outaouais region of Quebec.
The exhibition and sales event was filled to capacity – nearly 80 suppliers of parts, equipment and services welcomed clients and guests until late Friday evening. The event organizers say the promotion, POKER RUN, resulted in numerous happy participants among stores and workshops. In total, more than $50,000 in prizes were awarded between a $25,000 POKER RUN promotion and many vendor draws.
On Saturday morning, guest speaker Jimmy Sévigny opened the convention with a motivational discussion. During the weekend, the Vast-Auto and OttoFran marketing and sales teams held various workshops during which the latest market information, new banners programs, marketing campaigns and the action plan for 2017-’18 were presented.
Faithful to its tradition, the convention’s closing banquet was an opportunity to celebrate anniversaries of clients and honor the finalists and winners of the 2016 awards, including:
- Auto Value Parts Store of the Year: Marc Lefebvre & Caroline Kingsbury – Pièces d’auto JG André
- Auto Mécano of the Year: Patrick Labelle – Pro-Mécanique de la Gare
- Auto Value Certified Service Center of the Year: André Guilbeault & Philippe Bellemare – Bellemare Guilbeault Mécanique Plus
- Monsieur Muffler of the Year: Martin Gauthier & Gabriel Fisette – Monsieur Muffler Mont-Laurier
- OCTO Auto Service Plus of the Year: Roger Asselin – OCTO Beaumont
- Vendor of the Year: Mevotech
John Del Vasto, president of Vast-Auto Distribution, closed the formal part of the evening with a speech touching on the values of the company and the team – strong ties with customers and vendors, as well as the importance of customer service.