As MTD celebrates our 2025 Tire Dealer of the Year in this issue, I’m reminded that our Tire Dealer of the Year Award recipients, going all the way back to 1993, when the honor was established, have never been reluctant to share their thoughts about — well, many things, from the nuts and bolts of running a business to more philosophical matters.
Before this edition of MTD went to press, I combed through several past Tire Dealer of the Year Award articles, looking for quotes that provide a glimpse into the minds and personalities of some of the tire industry’s most successful people. I found the following to be particularly interesting and insightful:
On investing in employees: “The people who work for me are the most important part of this machine,” said Beth Barron, CEO of Morgan City, La.-based Chabill’s Tire & Auto Service and MTD’s Tire Dealer of the Year in 2024. “There is no doubt about it. Giving them the tools that they need to be profitable — the tools they need to make their jobs easier — is vital.”
On creating opportunities for people: “We’ve had people promoted to levels that were probably a mistake on our part,” said the late Bruce Halle, founder of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Discount Tire and MTD’s Tire Dealer of the Year in 2014. “Somebody who’s a great manager — it doesn’t mean he’s going to be a great assistant vice president. So how do you find that out? You give them the chance to try it.”
On doing business today: “Try to find one person who says it’s easier to do business today than it was before, going back to my father and his father’s father,” said John Marshall, executive vice president, retail, at Dayton, Ohio-based Grismer Tire Co. and the 2003 Tire Dealer of the Year. “It’s like the ‘people-don’t-work-as-hard-as-they-used-to’ syndrome. I don’t believe that. People work as hard, if not harder.”
On succession planning: “There’s a certain excitement among our employees that we’re planning for the next generation and we’re doing it deliberately,” said Jon Langerak, president and CEO of Byron Center, Mich.-based Wonderland Tire Co. and MTD’s Tire Dealer of the Year Award winner in 2023. “When employees see that, they appreciate it.”
On the value of introspection: “We’ve also been smart enough to say, ‘If something is not working well, we need to address it,’” said Jim Duff, co-owner of Columbia, Miss.-based Southern Tire Mart LLC, who along with his brother, Tommy Duff, received MTD’s Tire Dealer of the Year Award in 2021. “People say, ‘If you have good judgement and common sense, you’ll be successful.’ But I also think if you can’t self-analyze and realize, ‘The problem might be me,’ then you’re in trouble.”
On not selling yourself short: “We treat our customers at a high level and the people who work for Sullivan Tire at a high level, so we need to make a little more profit than somebody who doesn’t care about those things,” said Bob Sullivan, chairman of Norwell, Mass.-based Sullivan Tire Co. Inc. and MTD’s Tire Dealer of the Year in 2012.
On the thrill of the sale: “This business isn’t a game, but when you win, you get a tremendous feeling,” said the late Bill Ziegler, then-president of Massillon, Ohio-based Ziegler Tire & Supply and MTD’s Tire Dealer of the Year in 2009. “If you can get a commitment from a good customer and you put a program in place to sell them tires for what hopefully will be a long time, it’s an adrenaline rush.”
On true job security: “When our customers ask, ‘Who’s your competition?’ we tell them, ‘Our competition is your cost,’” said John Snider of Fort Mill, S.C.-based Snider Tire Inc. and MTD’s Tire Dealer of the Year in 2010. “If we can work together to make their cost trend in the right direction and keep it at a certain level, that’s all the security we’ll ever need.”
On winning together: “Everyone owns this (business),” said Ricky Benton, president of Whiteville, N.C.-based Black’s Tire Service Inc. and MTD’s Tire Dealer of the Year in 2015. “It’s not me. Money’s just paper. It’s just the vehicle. It just gets you the toys. It’s about having something together.”
On who the real boss is: “I can remember someone telling me, ‘It must be great to have your own business. You don’t have a boss,’” said Chip Wood, chairman of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Tire Discounters Inc. and MTD’s 2020 Tire Dealer of the Year. “I said, ‘That’s not true at all. I have a bunch of bosses. I have to answer to every customer who comes in. And I have to answer to everyone who works here.’”
We hope you enjoy reading about this year’s Tire Dealer of the Year Award recipient.
About the Author
Mike Manges
Editor
Mike Manges is Modern Tire Dealer’s editor. A 28-year tire industry veteran, he is a three-time International Automotive Media Association Award winner, holds a Gold Award from the Association of Automotive Publication Editors and was named a finalist for the prestigious Jesse H. Neal Award - often referred to as "the Pulitzer Prize of business-to-business media" - in 2024. He also was named Endeavor Business Media's Editor of the Year in 2024. Mike has traveled the world in pursuit of stories that will help independent tire dealers move their businesses forward. Before rejoining MTD in 2019, he held corporate communications positions at two Fortune 500 companies and served as MTD’s senior editor from 2000 to 2010.