TIA elects board secretary, treasurer

BOWIE, Md. (June 27, 2014) — The Tire Industry Association (TIA) board of directors has elected as secretary Tom Formanek, regional sales manager for Stellar Industries Inc. and TIA treasurer for the past six years.

The association also elected Mike Wolfe of Southeastern Wholesale Tire to succeed Mr. Formanek as board treasurer.

By being appointed secretary, Mr. Formanek is in line to be the trade group's president in 2016-17. He will begin his one-year term as secretary on Nov. 3. After that year, he will advance to vice president, then president, then past president—all positions for one-year terms.

The current secretary, Glenn Nicholson of TBC Retail Group, will become TIA's vice president later this year, when Fred Pratt-Boyer of Purcell Tire & Rubber Co. will become president, succeeding Ken Brown.

Mr. Formanek has more than 27 years' experience in the tire service industry. He currently is regional sales manager for commercial tire service truck maker Stellar Industries, based in Garner, Iowa, according to TIA.

He has served on TIA's board since 1993—including time with TIA precursor trade groups the National Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association (NTDRA) and Tire Association of North America (TANA). A past supplier group chairman of the NTDRA, Mr. Formanek has been TIA's treasurer for six years and also has been chairman of the events, training and membership committees.

Mr. Wolfe began his tire industry career in 1978 with his family's business, Southeastern Marketing Inc., where, he told Tire Business, he started off working in the wholesaler's warehouse, eventually moving into sales during about an eight-year stint with the company. He then worked at various other firms in the industry before starting Southeastern Wholesale Tire in 1994. He is the dealership's owner/operator.

With locations in Raleigh and Greenville, N.C., Southeastern Wholesale focuses on specialty tires, including large farm, industrial and OTR. He will begin his three-year TIA board term on Nov. 3.

Mr. Wolfe has been on the association's board for seven years and is active on the membership, strategic planning and finance and government affairs committees, TIA said. In addition, Mr. Wolfe was president of the North Carolina Tire Dealers Association (NCTDA) in 2004-05 and has served on that group's board for the past 15 years.

TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield said Messrs. Formanek and Wolfe “both bring a wealth of experience and dedication to our board and we are excited that they will be taking on these important leadership roles. The association and the industry will benefit from their expertise and passion.”

The TIA board elected the pair at its biannual meeting June 18-20.