Tire Pros initiative to assist veterans

SAN DIEGO (Feb. 26, 2016) — American Tire Distributors Holdings Inc.'s (ATD) Tire Pros division, in partnership with The Independence Fund, has launched “Allies for Independence,” a community relations initiative aiming to equip wounded U.S. soldiers with customized all-terrain wheelchairs.

Tire Pros announced the initiative — its first major charity program on a national scale — during its 2016 National Dealer Business Conference, Feb. 21-24, in San Diego.

Through the program, Tire Pros dealers will work within their markets to raise money and awareness for The Independence Fund, a non-profit organization founded in 2007 that offers tools, therapies and other resources for American military veterans with disabilities.

Specifically, Allies for Independence will support the organization's mobility program, which provides all-terrain wheelchairs to men and women who have suffered mobility-related injuries while serving in the U.S. military.

Tommy Rieman, executive director of The Independence Fund and a Silver Star and Purple Heart recipient, spoke to a room full of Tire Pros dealers during the meeting about his organization's mission.

“There are over 50,000 catastrophically wounded veterans that are out there, and 25,000 of them suffer from some type of mobility injury,” Mr. Rieman told attendees. “These chairs are $16,000 a piece; we've given over 1,400 of them away.

“We're all cut from the same fabric, and together we can accomplish the same mission, and that's what we're here for.... Now with this partnership, we're hoping to deliver that freedom and mobility that we promised.”

Each chair can be customized to a veteran's injuries, lifestyle and family goals, Tire Pros said, allowing them to continue participating in their favorite outdoor activities. Tire Pros dealers can support the program by collecting donations to fund the provision of more chairs.

According to Tire Pros President Dan Brown, the initiative marks the first time the organization has supported a cause that all its dealers can participate in.

“This is going to allow all of our dealers to contribute and to promote the cause and, combined with what we as a parent company can do, should be able to bring some significant things forward,” he told Tire Business.

Wes Stephenson, vice president of operations and training for Tire Pros, said the partnership was born from discussions that took place during the company's Tire Pros University dealer events in 2015.

“This past year we've had a real push on community involvement from our independent tire dealers, and particularly with cause-related items,” Mr. Stephenson said.

“Last summer, we had a series of Tire Pros Universities where we shared best practices and we really were able to see that many dealers across the country are involved in charitable causes, whether it's breast cancer things or children's causes.

“The things that they're involved in are significant in aggregate, but they said, ‘We need something that ties us all together, that all of us can be a part of, and it can be a part of our national advertising and all that.' This year our association with The Independence Fund, that's a big move for us.”

Mr. Stephenson added that the Allies for Independence initiative was jumpstarted by a broader partnership between The Independence Fund and Tire Pros parent ATD, both of which are based in the Charlotte, N.C., area. ATD donated $100,000 to the group during its ATD Charity Golf Tournament awards dinner last October.

During the farewell banquet at the conference, Tire Pros surprised three veterans with presentations of their own custom all-terrain wheelchairs:

• Don Walters Jr., a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army, who was medically retired due to injuries sustained while on deployment in Iraq on two separate occasions;
• Steven McGuire, a petty officer 2nd class in the Navy, who was paralyzed from the waist down after an accident; and
• Kevin Trimble, a former member of the U.S. Army's 1/25th infantry division, who lost his arm and both legs below the knee in an explosion in Afghan-istan.

According to Tire Pros, a highlight of the program will be a series of promotions scheduled around key patriotic holidays, including Tire Pros' popular Local Dealer Days in November — coinciding with Veterans' Day — during which local dealers help their communities support wounded veterans in their respective hometowns.