The induction of five individuals into the new California Tire Dealers Association (CTDA) Hall of Fame highlighted last week's CTDA/1-800 EveryRim New Year Luncheon, which took place in Santa Fe Springs. Calif.
"Establishing a CTDA Hall of Fame is something that was long overdue," CTDA President Billy Eordekian of 1-800EveryRim OEM Wheels told MTD during the event, which was attended by around 70 people.
The members of the first CTDA Hall of Fame class are all well-known for their contributions to the association, as well as for being successful business people, he noted. They include:
- The late Eddie Cohn, who joined his father’s business, Cohn’s Tire, in 1958 and was a longtime executive director of the CTDA (South);
- Jay Goldberg, a longtime board member of the CTDA and a principal at Globe Tire and Jewell Tire Co. Goldberg also was equally active on the national association level;
- The late Tom Hanlon, a former CTDA president and board member who also ran Hanlon’s Tire Service in San Bruno, Calif;
- The late Ed King, an insurance agent who helped establish the association’s primary insurance carrier. He also sat on the CTDA's board and was a past executive director of the association, and;
- Don Zavattero, long-time secretary/treasurer and board member of the CTDA. He also ran Tech Supply Co. in California.
CTDA Executive Director Marc Connerly presided over the induction ceremony.
Also during the event, several speakers addressed issues of importance to tire dealers.
Tire Industry Association (TIA) President Mason Hess, who also serves as director of Purcell Tire & Rubber Co.'s global mining division, said the current labor shortage impacting the tire industry has put “the safety risk on steroids right now."
Hess urged CTDA members to continue to invest in employee training. He also discussed a recent survey of young people who work in industrial trades that showed 70% of them have left - or intend to seek employment in other fields - “because they don’t see a future in it."
Dr. Roy Littlefield, retired CEO of TIA and current part-time lobbyist for the association, discussed a number of legislative issues facing the industry. He stated that the recently passed infrastructure bill will help the United States economy, but current tax levels are not enough to fund it.
Greg Smith, publisher of Modern Tire Dealer, told dealers that merger and acquisition activities would continue in the tire industry, but the market is cyclical and there are great opportunities for smaller dealers to establish themselves in their communities and grow. Smith also said the overall domestic tire market grew substantially in unit volume during 2021 and signs are pointing to more growth during 2022.
This year's luncheon was hosted by 1-800EveryRim OEM Wheels, with Federated Insurance participating as the Diamond Sponsor. Gold Sponsors were Yokohama Tire Corp., Advance Auto Parts, Turbo Wholesale Tires Inc., Snap Finance, Optimize Social Media and Mighty Auto Parts. Silver Sponsors were Myers Tire Supply, Penn Tires and Tire’s Warehouse, a division of U.S. AutoForce LLC.
