CTDA New Year's lunch SRO

PICO RIVERA, Calif. (Feb. 2, 2015) — The California Tire Dealers Association's (CTDA) annual New Year Luncheon, held Jan. 21, was a standing-room-only event.

The lunch, held at the Dal Rae Restaurant in Pico Rivera, drew 77 dealers and vendors representing 48 companies, according to 1-800EveryRim – OEM Wheels, which hosted the event.

Tom Formanek, Tire Industry Association (TIA) vice president who is regional sales manager for Garner, Iowa-based Stellar Industries Inc., addressed the importance of TIA as the tire industry's voice in Washington, D.C., and emphasized mandatory tire registration as a pressing issue facing dealers. He also spoke on the association's training programs and consumer education videos.

Also participating in the luncheon was Joe Findeis, chairman of the Specialty Equipment Market Association's (SEMA) Wheel & Tire Council (WTC) who spoke on the organization's Ultimate Wheel & Tire Plus Sizing Guide and WTC Ride Guide and how they can assist dealers with data on tire sizing related to vehicle performance. Mike Russell of Federated Insurance, CTDA's official liability insurance vendor, also gave a presentation.

Co-gold sponsors for the event were Yokohama Tire Corp. and Federated Insurance, while Pirelli Tire North America Inc. was a silver sponsor, according to Billy Fordekian, CTDA board member and co-owner of Pico Rivera-based 1-800EveryRim. He noted that door prizes were provided by Coker Tire, Freedom Tire, GT Radial, Lakin Tire, Schrader International, Tires Warehouse, the Ultimate Wheel & Tire Plus Sizing Guide, and Voxx Wheel. In addition, eight companies contributed table favors.

“People actually called me the next day to thank CTDA, but I do need to mention that Chris Barry with his ITDG (Independent Tire Dealer Group) friends and all of our sponsors really came through, too,” Mr. Eordekian added.