RESTON, Va. (Oct. 1, 2001) — Former Kelly-Springfield CEO Lee Fiedler and Pam Fitzgerald—the first and only female president of the Tire Association of North America—will be inducted into the association's Tire Industry Hall of Fame during the Speciality Equipment Market Association/International Tire Expo in Las Vegas this month.
Mr. Fiedler and Ms. Fitzgerald will be honored at TANA's Annual Meeting and Hall of Fame Breakfast, Tuesday, Oct. 30. The breakfast, sponsored by Goodyear, also will feature a keynote address by NASCAR Winston Cup 2000 champion Dale Jarrett.
TANA President Nick Hodel said both individuals have made “amazing contributions” to their businesses and the industry at large. “Lee and Pam have really made a difference, and their induction into the Hall of Fame is well deserved,” Mr. Hodel said in a prepared statement.
Mr. Fiedler, a veteran of 36 years in the tire industry, is a graduate of Harvard University's Advanced Management program and at one time was listed among “America's Top 100 Marketers,” by Advertising Age, a sister publication of Tire Business. Using a small management team and an aggressive sales force to promote the company's Kelly, Star, Hallmark, Lee and custom brands, Mr. Fiedler guided Goodyear's former Cumberland, Md.-based subsidiary through some of its most successful years.
He currently is mayor of Cumberland, serves on the board of 10 companies, schools and charities, and teaches at nearby Frostburg State University.
Ms. Fitzgerald, TANA's president in 1998, is CEO of Gatto's Tire & Auto Service Inc., a six-outlet, Goodyear dealership in Melbourne, Fla., with annual sales of $11 million. She is credited with helping TANA return to financial stability after suffering a disastrous convention in 1996 and also with helping broaden the association's membership base to include all segments of the tire industry.
TANA's Hall of Fame, founded in 1985 to celebrate the achievements of leaders who have helped shape the tire industry, currently has 82 inductees, the Reston-based trade association said.