Virginia Automotive Report E Newsletter for June 2015

The History of VAA

1965-2015 By Steve Akridge

In 1964, L.C Miller, Jr. of Roanoke went to Richmond

and the Virginia General Assembly to lobby on a bill that

dealt with regrooving of tires. He ran up against a well orga-

nized and well funded opponent and lost. It was then he

realized there were more battles to come, and the industry

had to come together with a strong and unified voice. He

began recruiting a few dealers, and asked them to do the

same; and thus the Virgina Tire Dealers & Retreaders Associa-

tion was formed in 1965. There would be many battles to

come including one in 1972 over a proposal to tax retread-

ing equipment. The defeat of this bill was huge to everyone

in the group, and showed the industry why coming together

was so important.

The word spread quickly of the new organization.

Soon other dealers across the state joined, and the Associa-

tion found the need for an Executive Director to manage the

new group. There have been five over the 50 years. The first

was Ralph Howard, who came on board in 1965 and split his

time also running the North Carolina association, which had

been formed the year before. A year later, the fledging

group continued to prosper, and hired it’s first full time Execu-

tive Director, Bill Shiveley, who lived in Roanoke, and stayed

on until 1974. Don Carl, also from Roanoke, led the Associa-

tion from 1974 until his retirement in 1986. Issues involving

scrap tires, their environmental impact, and concerns over

where responsibility lay began to surface, and the Board de-

cided the office would be moved to Richmond in order to

be closer to the General Assembly. Brian Daly was hired and

ran the VTDRA until 1990. It was during this time our real lob-

bying efforts began, and legislation to enact a tire tax for the

purpose of scrap tire pile cleanup was introduced and

passed. This was also the beginning of the Association’s in-

volvement with State agencies and new regulations. Steve

Akridge took over in 1990, and remains in that position today.

As the industry was evolving, and most tire dealers

were getting more involved in auto repairs, the decision was

made March 1991 to change the name to the Virginia Tire

and Automotive Service Dealers Association to better reflect

on it’s members’ core business. The VTASDA continued to be

involved at the General Assembly and began to address

business issues such as employee training and group pro-

grams to save money. In 2004, it became clear our industry

was continuing to evolve quickly, and in a big way. Tire

dealers were doing considerable auto repair, muffler shops

and garages were selling a lot of tires and service stations

continued to do everything. It also became clear our lobby

efforts, our training and our programs could benefit any au-

tomotive business, regardless of what they considered them-

selves. At the Annual meeting in 2004 a motion was made to

change our by-laws to include other automotive related

businesses, and the membership voted on a new name that

was more inclusive of who we represented. The Virginia Au-

tomotive Association name was adopted, and remains in-

tact today. Continued on Page 4

VAA 2015- Colonial Williamsburg: Record Attendance Celebrates 50 Years

We could not have picked a better location to cel-

ebrate our 50 years of existence than Colonial Williamsburg.

It was our first trip to the historic district and the Williamsburg

Lodge, and our dealers and suppliers turned out with a rec-

ord attendance. It was truly a special weekend which start-

ed on Friday morning with 22 foursomes competing for the

VAA Open Golf Tournament held at the Golden Horseshoe,

and concluded on Sunday morning with our closing Break-

fast and Keynote. As our President Bobby Cutchins put it,

“we had an all star cast of speakers– something for every-

one”. And what a hit each of them was. Dave Crawford,

CEO of The Hybrid Shop was our Saturday morning opening

Keynote and he gave an information packed presentation

on where hybrids have been, where they are going and

some of the common misconceptions about the technolo-

gy. From there, our owner’s and key managers heard a ses-

sion from Chubby Frederick on the important topic of Suc-

cession Planning, while our sales and service employees

heard Matt Winslow’s Providing Legendary Service seminar.

Right after these, Norm Gaither held a Financial Roundtable

for the owners and Eric Van Dyck held a Sales and Service

Communication Roundtable for the sales and service per-

sonnel. For each of these sessions, the room was packed,

and everyone raved about the valuable information gained

from each one. Saturday evening we recognized our 50

year heritage and heard stories from L.C. Miller III whose Dad

started the association and was our first President, Terry

Westhafer who was President in 1978 and has served on our

Board for 39 years, and Roy Littlefield who we have worked

closely with for many years at the National level. Each had

some great stories to tell, and gave our audience a closer

look at our rich heritage. We then recognized 19 Past Presi-

dents who were with us for this special celebration, followed

by another Past President. Thomas Jefferson, our nation’s 3rd

President. Mr. Jefferson really stole the show with his humor-

ous engagement of VAA’s Past Presidents and his tales of

transportation in the 1700’s. The Williamsburg Fife and Drum

corp then escorted our attendees to the Trade Expo. With

77 booths and over 400 in attendace, the trade expo gave

dealers a unique opportunity to interact with the many in-

dustry vendors in a relaxed atmosphere. Five lucky dealers

also walked away with some cash from our drawings. On

Sunday morning, we concluded with a humorous and factu-

al presentation from Meagan Johnson called “Zap the

Gap”. She really gave us some great insight on the different

generations, why each thinks the way they do, and how to

better co-exist side by side in the workplace.

We certainly want to thank our exhibitors and a very special

group of suppliers we call our Sponsors for supporting VAA

and our convention effort. Both are listed on page 5. We

also had a record number of dealers attending for the very

first time. The pictures on the following pages help to tell our

story, and what everyone who attends already knows– our

conventions are first class in every way and a special oppor-

tunity to come together, both dealers and suppliers, to share

in education and fellowship. We look forward to seeing you

next year at The Homestead, April 15-17.

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www.unifirst.com

www.carrolltire.com

www.federatedinsurance.com

www.parrishtire.com

www.morrisdist.com

www.odtdirect.com www.valvoline.com

www.atd-us.com

PLEASE THANK AND SUPPORT OUR VAA ADVERTISERS

www.forparts.com

www.tirecenters.com

www.demandforce.com/vaa/ www.hotrodprocessing.com

www.premierler.com

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VAA 2016

Returns to The Homestead

April 15-17, 2016

Southern Charm in the Allegheny

Mountains of Virginia

Mark your Calendar and plan to join us

VAA Board of Directors

President: Bobby Cutchins

Bobby’s Tire & Auto Care, Franklin

Coastal Virginia Region

President-Elect: Scott Brown

Cardinal Plaza Shell, Springfield

Northern Virginia Region

Secretary-Treasurer:Jerry Tatum

Leete Tire & Auto, Petersburg

Richmond Region

Vice President: John Kline

Old Dominion Tire, Midlothian

Richmond Region

Executive Board Member: Mark Anderton

First Landing Auto Care, Virginia Beach

Coastal Virginia Region

Executive Director: Steve Akridge

VAA, Midlothian

Richmond Region

Directors:

Northern Virginia Region:

Myron Boncarosky, MSS, Inc./Va. Tire, Fairfax

Chris Barnett, Tire Tread Service, Fredericksburg

Richmond Region:

Clint Farrar, American Tire Distributors, Richmond

Emmerson Miles, Miles Auto Service, Richmond

Tom McClain, Napa Auto Parts, Richmond

Coastal Virginia Region:

Mike Scaglione, Arrowhead Auto & Align, Virginia Beach

Lynchburg Region:

Eric Hughes, Harris Tire, Lynchburg

Brenda Carpenter, Carpenter Tire, Lynchburg

Southwest Virginia Region:

Matt McCoy, M & M Tire, Blacksburg

Travis Leath, Twin County Tire & Auto, Galax

Bill Hoal, Carroll Tire Co., Roanoke

Shenandoah Valley Region:

Steve Crawford, Hepner Tire, Woodstock

Terry Westhafer, Central Tire, Verona

Tom Jones, Fisher Auto Parts, Staunton

Larry Williams, University Tire & Auto, Charlottesville

Corey’s Automotive Repair Shop, Jeff & Susan Corey,

Va. Beach Sponsored by ATI & CJ Frederick

S&O Auto Repair, Drew Owens

N. Chesterfield Sponsored by John Kline

RNR of VA, LLc, Ron Russell

Norfolk Sponsored by Steve Akridge

Truck Outfitters, Brian & Tracy Allen

Midlothian Sponsored by ATI & CJ Frederick

Sanford Financial Corp., Mike Sanford

Midlothian Sponsored by Steve Akridge

The Hybrid Shop, Dave Crawford

Gainesville Sponsored by Bobby Cutchins

Express Tag & Title, Lori Hairfield

Moneta Sponsored by Steve Akridge

Manalto, Inc., Michele Sink

Reston Sponsored by Steve Akridge

Dilmar Oil Co., Kent Ottaway

Wilmington, NC Sponsored by Mark Anderton

Join VAA online at www.vaauto.org click Join VAA

Welcome New VAA Members

VAA Office:

Steve Akridge, Executive Director

Email: sakridge@vaautomotive.org

Web: www.vaautomotive.org

6126 Fox Haven Place

Midlothian, VA 23112 Phone: 804-739-1400

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President’s Corner

By Bobby Cutchins

WHEN QUESTIONING MORALE JUST TAKE

A LOOK AROUND

Do you feel like your employees are running out

of gas within the workplace? Well stop for a mi-

nute and take a look around. Take a look

around the workplace whether it be in the

showroom or in the shop itself and tell me what

you see. Is it a mess and just a complete clutter

of what looks like a small natural disaster has tak-

en place? Morale is a tough thing to continu-

ously maintain in the everyday grind. Only you

can take care of your part by doing everything

you can to make sure the morale is where it

needs to be on a daily basis.

The bottom line is simple; People function better

in cleaner and more organized environments

then they do in a complete clutter. From your

sales staff to the technicians, the same rules ap-

ply. So yes it’s that time of year again and it’s

time to “Spring” into a cleaner and more orga-

nized work environment for both you and your

fellow employees.

Once the tone has been set and everyone is on

board then you are simply on your way. It won’t

feel that you are the only one that can make

this happen because it will be a team effort.

Once you have accomplished the small battles

within the workplace you will ready to “Spring”

into a higher energy and more profitable sector

of your business that you may or may not have

experienced in the past. Take time to utilize the

VAA and what powerful resources it has to assist

you in any avenue you need assistance in within

your company! Do you have what it takes to

“Spring” forward?

VAA 2015 and our Sponsors

Morale was very high at our Convention and

Trade Expo, and it was great to see such an en-

gaged and enthusiatic group of dealers and

suppliers. As I have said in several trade publi-

cations, the weekend really could not have

gone any better. A big thank you to our Spon-

sors, who are listed on page 5. This tremendous

show of financial support enables us to put on a

first class show, and supports the many programs

and good work the VAA does throughout the

year. These companies are truly special part-

ners of the VAA, and I encourage you to express

your thanks by giving them business every

chance you have.

See you next year April 15-17 as we return to the

beautiful Homestead and all it’s many ameni-

ties.

The Final VAA 2015 General Assembly

Report will be Emailed the week of

June 22. Please look for it in your Inbox.

History of VAA continued from Page 1

We have been fortunate to have had talented and dedi-

cated volunteer leaders who make up our Board of Direc-

tors. With each name change, the Board has expanded it’s

leadership role to include every phase of our industry. Our

Supplier partners have also played an important role in the

growth and success of the Association, and we have in-

cluded their representatives on our Board as well. Bob

Barnes was our first Supplier President in 2000, followed by

Tony Waugh in 2001 and Dave Kavanah in 2008. Fran Boyd

was our first female President in 2006, and Don & Brenda

Carpenter are the only husband and wife to have both

served as President; Don in 1994 and Brenda in 2012. We

have had several Fathers and their Sons to serve as Presi-

dent; Jim Caroon Sr. in 1971, and his son Jim Caroon, Jr. in

1993, and Bill Board in 1974 and his son, Houston Board in

1989. Bobby Inscoe served as President in 1979, followed by

his son David Inscoe in 2002, and Bobby’s son-in-law, Larry

Williams who served in 2010. We have had two Brothers

serve; Joe Thompson in 1991 and Bill Thompson in 1992. Ter-

ry Westhafer, who was President in 1978, and with the ex-

ception of two years he took off, has served on our Board of

Directors since 1974, for a total of 39 years! We owe our

past and present leaders a big show of gratitude for their

passion to our industry and our Association.

It’s been quite a ride over the years in an industry

that seems to never sit still. We have embraced the many

changes and challenges along the way, and 50 years later,

remain strong, relevant and the independent automotive

business’ best friend. Here’s to the next 50!

2015 VAA Convention Committee Chairman- Steve “Fish” Crawford, Hepner Tire, Woodstock

Scott Brown, Cardinal Plaza Shell, Springfield

Eric Hughes, Harris Tire, Lynchburg

Tom Jones, Fisher Auto Parts, Staunton

Travis Leath, Twin County Tire, Galax

Clint Farrar, American Tire Distributors, Richmond

Chuck Shifflett, University Tire & Auto, Charlottesville

Bobby Cutchins, Bobby’s Tire & Auto, Franklin

A big Thank you to these gentlemen for their commitment

of time, energy and vision. We look forward to what you

have in store for us next year!

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VAA Trade Expo Exhibitors

Advance Auto Parts Driven By Carquest

Albert Tire

American Tire Distributors

Andreoli & Associates, Inc.

AP Exhaust

Ashcraft Associates

Atlantic Tire Distributors

Automotive Training Institute

BG Products

C&K Auto Parts

Cardone Industries

Car-Part.com

Carroll Tire Company

Continental Tire

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

Demandforce, Inc.

East Penn Batteries

Emanuel Tire of Virginia

Falken Tire

Federal Mogul

Federated Insurance

First Data Merchant Services

Fisher Auto Parts

H. N. Funkhouser

Hankook Tire USA

Hastings Filters

Heritage-Crystal Clean

HIKO, Inc.

Hot Rod Processing

Hunter Engineering

Justice Tire

KeyMotive

KYB Shocks & Struts

Kukui

KT Automotive Products

Kumho Tire, USA

Managed Benefits, Inc.

Martins Industries

Martin-Scott Agency

Michelin North America

Mighty of Virginia

Mitchell 1

Mohawk Rubber Sales

Morris Distributing

Myers Tire Supply & Equipment

NAPA Auto Parts

Net Driven

Nexen Tire

Old Dominion Tire Direct

Parrish Tire Company

Papco Oil

Pirelli Tire LLC

PMI Lubricants

R. O. Writer

Sanford Insurance

Skyview Savings Group

Standard Motor Parts

TCI Tire Centers Inc.

TCS an ARI Company

Unifirst Corporation

Uniselect Auto Plus

VAA / TIA

Valvoline

VAA Convention Sponsors

We give a big Thank you to our 2015 Sponsors. Please

show your thanks to this special group of VAA Partner

Supplier companies whenever you can by giving them

your business

Platinum Sponsors

Albert Tire

American Tire Distributors

Carroll Tire Company

Federated Insurance

NAPA Auto Parts/Autocare Richmond

Silver Sponsors

Automotive Training Institute

TCI Tire Centers Inc.

Bronze Sponsors

Advance Auto Parts Driven By Carquest

Bridgestone Firestone

Hankook Tire USA

Kumho Tire USA

Parrish Tire Company

Pewter Sponsors

Atlantic Tire Distributors

Continental Tire Company

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

Emanuel Tire of Virginia

Falken Tire

Fisher Auto Parts & Vendor Associates

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

Hot Rod Processing

Kukui

Michelin North America

Mohawk Rubber Sales

Myers Tire Supply & Equipment

Nitto Tire USA, Inc.

Old Dominion Tire Direct

Olympus Imported Auto Parts

PAPCO

Pirelli Tire LLC

S & S Tire

Unifirst Corporation

Yokohama Tire Corporation

Scenes From VAA 2015 at The Williamsburg Lodge Th

e S

pe

ake

rs

The

His

tory

of

VA

A a

nd

Pa

st P

resi

de

nts

L.C. Miller III Terry Westhafer Roy Littlefield

Thomas Jefferson reads to Steve Akridge his

“Rules of Conduct”

Some of VAA’s Past Presidents: L-R: Joe Thompson, Bill

Thompson,Bill Mayo, Jim Caroon, Doug Webb, Jimmy Brans-

come, Tommy Harris, Howard Camden, Brenda Carpenter,

Don Carpenter, Lynn Bond and Terry Westhafer

L-R: Tony Waugh, Dave Kavanah,

Brenda Carpenter Tommy Harris L-R: Howard Camden, Jerry Tatum,

Bob Barnes

Matt Winslow Thomas Jefferson Meagan Johnson

Dave Crawford Chubby Frederick Norm Gaither

Eric Van Dyck

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More Scenes From VAA 2015 and The Williamsburg Lodge

Stephanie Mallory, Lisa and Junior Bailey of

Richmond Katie Hayden and son Bentley of Midlothian

The Holmes Girls of Fairfax

L-R: Charlotte, Bridget and Annabelle

Wayne and Alice Coleman of Richmond L-R: Dayton Grimm, Christina and Chris Bar-

nett, Brett Spencer, Angelo Iannelli

L-R: Chris Chase, Keith McMichael, John

McMichael, Katie McMichael, Kristen &

Matthew Swinehart

“Old Friends”- Dave Kavanah (L) of Baltimore

and Tony Waugh of Richmond More Old Friends– Terry Westhafer (L) of Vero-

na and Joe Thompson of Christiansburg

The Prez and Prez Elect

Bobby Cutchins (L) of Franklin and Scott

Brown of Sprringfield

The Williamsburg Fife & Drum Corp Denise and Mike Scaglione of Virginia Beach Clint Farrar (L) and Tom Southward of

Richmond

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And the winners are...L-R: Nancy Wolfe of Covington- $100, Bobbie DeHart of Richmond- $200, Steve Roland of Fairfax- $300, L.C. Miller

of Roanoke- $400, and Floyd Edmonds of South Hill- $500.

Scenes From the VAA Trade Expo & Reception 77 Exhibit booths, over 400 attendees, $1500 cash given away, 4 open bars...quite a show

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Closest to the Pin winner

Brent Foster

The 2015 VAA Open Champions shot 9

under. L-R: Larry Nagi, Jimmy Dunford,

Eric Hughes, Bill Hoal.

It was a beautiful spring day as 22 teams

competed for the VAA Open The Open Runner up team finished 2 shots

back. L-R: Mike Holmes, Phil Winston, Steve

Roland, Jeff Trump

Last Place Team tries out their new fishing

rods. L-R: Bob Reilly, Mike Fortune, Scott

Brown, ST Billingsly

L-R: Chris Danes, Edwin Corleto L-R: Carroll Perry, Jonathon Lucas. Mike

Ward, Jim McCullough

Scenes From The VAA Open at The Golden Horseshoe

“We came so close” says

Larry Williams (L). “You never had a

chance” says Fish Crawford

Third Place Team: L-R: Ron Justice, Rick Yost,

Lee Hall, Stephen Willis

Lynchburg Buddies

Ken Landrum (L), Eric Hughes

Long Drive Winner

Nick Pingel

“I Got This”

says Emmerson Miles

Harrison Gaylord

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The Presidents 1965-2015 1965-66 L.C. Miller, Jr. Miller Tire Service Roanoke

1966-67 Earl Dunn Dunn Tire Service Richmond

1967-68 Jesse Castleberry Castleberry Tire Hampton

1968-69 Sid Turner Cavalier Tire Wytheville

1969-70 Ray Carr Sr. Carr Tire Service Harrisonburg

1970-71 Robert Dyer Boyle-Swecker Tire Roanoke

1971-72 Jim Caroon, Sr. Culpeper Appliance Culpeper

1972-73 Ray Houchens Ray’s Auto Supply Petersburg

1973-74 John Laningham Laningham Tire Pennington Gap

1974-75 William Board BTB, Inc. Front Royal

1975-76 Jack Bogle Bogle Tire Wytheville

1976-77 Hunter Spencer Service Tire Richmond

1977-78 Randy Stinson Stinson Tire Danville

1978-79 Terry Westhafer Central Tire Verona

1979-80 Bobby Inscoe University Firestone Charlottesville

1980-81 Harry Snavely Freed Co. Waynesboro

1981-82 Bill Mayo Tom Frost Firestone Warrenton

1982-83 Charlie Nelson Settle Tire Charlottesville

1983-84 Charlie Nelson Settle Tire Charlottesville

1984-85 Julian Lipscomb Kramer Tire Norfolk

1985-86 Lynn Bond Bond Tire Service Danville

1986-87 Steve Bowmer Colonial Tire Williamsburg

1987-88 Dave White White Tire Roanoke

1988-89 Jimmy Branscome Jimmy’s Retreading Collinsville

1989-90 Houston Board Service Tire & Battery Front Royal

1990-91 Sonny Pearson Sonny’s Tire Hopewell

1991-92 Joe Thompson Thompson Tire Co. Christiansburg

1992-93 Bill Thompson Thompson Tire Marion

1993-94 Jim Caroon, Jr. Caroon’s Tire Fredericksburg

1994-95 Don Carpenter Carpenter Tire Lynchburg

1995-96 Jim McGlothlin McKelsey Sales Richlands

1996-97 Tommy Harris Harris Tire Lynchburg

1997-98 Doug Webb Webb’s Tire Appomattox

1998-99 Howard Camden H & J Tire Lexington

1999-2000 Jerry Tatum Leete Tire Petersburg

2000-01 Bob Barnes American Tire Distr. Manassas

2001-02 Tony Waugh Myers Tire Supply Richmond

2002-04 David Inscoe University Tire Charlottesville

2004-06 Steve Craven Craven Tire Fairfax

2006-08 Fran Boyd Thompson Tire Co. Radford

2008-10 Dave Kavanah American Tire Dist. Baltimore

2010-12 Larry Williams University Tire Charlottesville

2012-14 Brenda Carpenter Carpenter Tire Lynchburg

2014-16 Bobby Cutchins Bobby’s Tire & Auto Franklin We salute this special group of volunteer leaders for their guidance and vision over the past 50 years.

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