One more hand for Dave Z

By the time you read this, Dave Zielasko will have worked his last day at Crain Communications Inc.

Even though everybody knew that day was coming — working nearly 35 years for any business, let alone one in this industry, is quite an accomplishment — his retirement from the publishing business marks the end of an era, not only for Tire Business, but for the entire Akron-area office.

This issue will be the last we publish that will contain the Zielasko name in the masthead, the column on the right of this page that lists names and contact information of our employees.

You see, the Zielasko name has been appearing in every issue of our publications since 1971, when Dave's father, Ernie Zielasko, co-founded Rubber & Plastics News, our sister publication. Crain purchased RPN from Ernie in 1976, retaining the elder Zielasko to run the magazine.

Ernie also founded Tire Business for Crain in 1983, then wisely rehired his son Dave two years later as a copy editor for RPN.

A few months later, Dave joined Tire Business, and over the next three-plus decades, he served as editor, publisher and editorial director of TB, RPN and/or European Rubber Journal. He has been the face, as well as the editorial voice, for this publication ever since he became editor in 1987. I was honored to succeed him as editor in January 2017.

Dave and Bruce Davis, our veteran reporter who helped to design TB from the outset, have forgotten more about the tire industry than most people know.

What sets Dave apart from most any other boss is his demeanor. Not only is Dave naturally pleasant and cheerful, he can talk with anyone, at any time, on just about any topic.

Dave could talk the carbon black out of a tire.

It was just two years ago at the SEMA Show when Dave and I were starting our morning on the crowded Las Vegas monorail. Clinging to a pole for balance, knowing the difficulty of the day ahead, I kept my head down, alone in my thoughts.

Dave, meanwhile, began talking to a gentleman he was pressed up against. One thing led to another, and it turned out the man was a friend of Roy Littlefield, the longtime CEO of the Tire Industry Association (TIA). In the mass of humanity that is the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show, only Dave could stumble upon a stranger with whom he shared a friend.

Dave, by the way, will be working alongside that friend in his new role in the industry: Vice president of marketing and communications at TIA.

Dave leaves quite a legacy. Since I've worked on both Akron-based publications — I spent my first four years with RPN — I know first-hand that TB and RPN are well respected in the industry. Each has built a solid readership, maintaining high editorial standards and are both must-reads for those within their respective industries. And that's because of Dave's leadership.

The sign of any great leader is to leave his or her workplace better than how he or she got it. As I sit in our beautiful new office in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, I can see the Cuyahoga River flowing in the distance. Our new facility is a testament to how hard Dave worked to find an office space better than the one we had before.

But perhaps Dave's most enduring legacy is a hand. Or more accurately two hands. Those hands, about to embrace in a handshake, represent the Tire Business Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award, given annually to a tire dealer or retreader who, during the past year, has made significant contributions to the betterment of his or her community through charitable and/or public service work.

I have been involved with the award for just two of the past 25 years, but it's been enough to show me how significant the award is, how much it means to the recipients and most importantly, how much it is respected in the tire industry.

Here's just one example: Last year, I had the privilege of presenting the award to Mark Smith of Midas of Richmond (Va.). Before my speech, one of my tire industry colleagues half-joked that my speech had better be short as he had a dinner reservation at 8. He said he didn't want to miss it.

I explained that I needed my allotted time, or maybe a little more, to fully explain how much this tire dealer meant to his community, particularly how his work impacted the hungry schoolchildren in his area.

After my speech had ended, the man sought me out. "You were right," he told me. "Those stories needed to be told."

Tire Business is known industrywide for that prestigious award. And that is all because of Dave Zielasko and his passion and support of the Humanitarian Award.

Dave's mark — or I should say his hand — will forever be part of this award. One hand depicted on the Humanitarian Medal is Dave's. The other hand belongs to Chuck Slaybaugh, who worked alongside Dave for more than a decade as Tire Business' executive editor.

In a way, Dave will be continue to be immortalized each year as we present the Humanitarian Award. It is yet another example of Dave leaving behind something better than how he found it.

So how do you replace a man with 35 years of industry knowledge, 35 years of professionalism, 35 years of representing Crain with class, character and dignity? You don't.

You just learn from the example he set.

Mr. Detore is editor of Tire Business. He can be reached at [email protected]; 330-865-6126; Twitter: @dondetore.