Former National Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association (NTDRA) leader Phil Friedlander Jr. died on June 2.
Friedlander joined the NTDRA, the forerunner of the Tire Industry Association, in 1954 as the editor of the association’s magazine. He graduated to a number of different positions within the NTDRA, including director of public relations, director of communications, general manager in 1976 and then executive vice president in 1978.
Under his leadership, the NTDRA instituted a number of significant member services, including a credit card, a check guarantee service for independent tire dealers, and more.
Eventually rising to the position of chief administrative officer, Friedlander was instrumental in gaining passage of legislation that eliminated the excise tax on tread rubber, made tire registration voluntary rather than mandatory, eliminated the registration of passenger retreads and outlawed the regrooving of passenger tires.
He also served as manager of the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau, then known as the Tire Retread Information Bureau, in the mid-1970s, and served as vice president of the Small Business Legislative Council.
A U.S. Army veteran, he was preceded by his wife, Cissy, in 2008 and is survived by two daughters, Dorothy Ann Friedlander and Beth Friedlander; son, James Friedlander; a daughter-in-law; two grandchildren; and a brother.
A service is being planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, his family suggests that memorial donations can be made to the Philip P. Friedlander Jr. Scholarship in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Studies https://business.gwu.edu/prospective-students/mba-admissions/scholarships-and-partnerships/endowments.
The endowment was established by the NTDRA in 1997.
