Jon Boyd begins his two-year term as president of the Ohio Tire & Automotive Association (OTAA) with a very specific goal in mind.
“For me, it’s about building our membership,” he said after taking over for outgoing President Jeff Wallick following the OTAA board meeting on Aug. 7. The meeting was held in conjunction with the association’s annual golf outing in Dublin, Ohio. "I think only 30% to 40% of potential tire and automotive repair facilities in Ohio are actually paying dues to our organization.
“I don’t think enough of (the non-members) know who we are and what we do to protect them. We need to find a way to get ahold of the right people in each of these organizations and then let them know what we can do for them. And then secondarily to that -- and almost more importantly -- we need to make sure the benefits we are giving our association members are enough that they want to be part of the association.”
Boyd, who is manager of brands, customer service and tire business for Boyd’s Tire & Service in Westerville, Ohio, said the OTAA wants to be both a social and a functional organization.
“We have to be functional for dealers to want to pay the dues every single year. For example, we are going to parts companies and asking, ‘What can you give our members to make it so they get a benefit they might not get from just negotiating with you directly?’ And then training is a big thing we are also focusing on.
“When my predecessor, Jeff Wallick, was president, we switched from a scholarship fund to a training program because we thought the dealers in our industry would benefit more from protecting the quality of their associates, the same people who are working on customers’ vehicles.”
Boyd also announced next year’s golf outing will be held Aug. 5, again at the Country Club at Muirfield Village in Dublin.
