Nominations are now being accepted for the Georgia Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association (GTDRA) Hall of Fame.
The 2011 inductees will be honored at the association’s annual conference later this year (dates are still pending).
Hall of Fame nomination forms can be found at www.georgiatiredealers.org. Completed forms should be mailed to Georgia Tire Dealers, PO Box 801378, Acworth, GA 30101 or faxed to (770) 421-0511.
The association held its first induction ceremonies last year, honoring Tom Snow, founder of Atlanta Commercial Tire, and Bobby Carroll, founder of Carroll Tire.
The GTDRA Hall of Fame was established to honor individuals who have played a significant role in the growth and development in the Georgia Tire Dealers Association as well as the tire industry, the association says.
Following a stint in the Army Reserves, Snow worked for the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. He held various positions at several Firestone locations, his last being division truck tire manager.
He resigned from Firestone in 1970 to begin Atlanta Commercial Tire. At the time of his death in July 1990, he owned two Bandag retread plants, two retail stores and a truck tire center.
He was active in the National Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association. He also served as president and board member for the GTDRA and the Metro Atlanta Tire Dealers.
He was instrumental in starting the GTDRA’s Scholarship Fund, which has awarded over $160,000 in scholarships to children of Georgia tire dealers’ employees attending schools of higher education, the association says.
Carroll started Carroll Tire in a small two-bay service station in the late 1940s. He began retreading tires and selling new tires, and eventually built his own building to house his company in East Point, Ga.
In 1964 he began wholesaling tires. Two years later he built a warehouse in Mt. View, Ga., with exclusive marketing territories for Tire & Battery Corp.’s Multi-Mile brand. He expanded in the early 1970s to Jacksonville, Fla., then Orlando and Tampa. As the company grew, he expanded into Alabama and South Carolina.
Over the years, Carroll was instrumental in the state association’s growth, the association reports.
