Ken McCune has accepted the position of executive vice president of the Indiana/Illinois Tire Dealers Association (IITDA) following the retirement of John Buettner.
McCune has served on the IITDA board of directors for the last five years and recently retired after a 29-year career with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.
Buettener, however, will continue to run the Tire Industry Association (TIA) Off-the-Road Tire Conference. The 52nd annual event will be held Feb. 21-23, 2008, at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel in Kohala Coast, Hawaii.
(Registration is currently open for the 2008 conference. A registration form with hotel information is available on TIA's Web site at www.tireindustry.org by clicking on "Events.")
The following interview with McCune can be found on the IITDA Web site, www.iitda.org. It is also located in the most recent Tire Talk online newsletter.
Q. Please tell us a little about your professional background, and how you think it will help you in your new endeavor.
McCune: After graduating with a bachelor of science degree in marketing management from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, I went to work for the Retail Stores Division of Goodyear, where I ultimately managed retail locations. I then became a district/region sales manager for Goodyear in central Indiana.
Through these experiences, I have developed good knowledge of what the important issues are for the independent tire dealer. Now I have the opportunity to take what I have learned, and hopefully provide value to the IITDA members. I am extremely pleased and excited about taking on this responsibility.
Q.: What is your vision for the association, and how do you see that vision becoming reality?
McCune: My vision is the same as that of the association: to support and enhance the growth and profitability of its members. Although this association is profitable and has a strong core group of members, I think that there are some questions about what tangible value the association provides for its members.
The guiding principle of the association needs to be that for this association to grow, we must deliver what we say we have to offer. To help ensure that we do, the board has recently begun a strategic planning process.
Q.: Can you tell us a little about the process?
McCune: Basically, it is a systematic process to define the following:
* who we serve.
* missions and goals.
* values.
* benefits or services.
* resource allocation.
The Strategic Plan gives us a "track to run on" for the future. The great thing about it is that it stays "evergreen"; it will enable us to add or revise goals as needed. We will be updating the members on our progress as we go along.
Q.: How about sharing a little personal information about yourself?
McCune: I am originally from Hammond, Ind., and moved to Cleveland (Ohio) when I was 12. My wife, Karen, and I will celebrate 30 wonderful years of marriage later this year. Karen is a chemist by trade, and works for Eli Lilly. We live in Nora, on the north side of Indianapolis.
In addition to my work with the association, I am currently pursuing a dual masters degree in philanthropy and library science at Indiana University. I also do volunteer work for the IRIS Reading Program at WFYI Radio, and the Indiana Historical Society.
