Our View: Speak good words, hear good things

Here's to going the extra mile to make your industry a better place.

Those of us from the newspaper side of journalism know that you can run 20 positive stories, but it's the negative one that tops the most-read charts. Worse still is the social media commenter pondering, "Why don't you print some good news for once?"

This is true in tire industry news, as well, where the top news of the day is usually mergers and acquisitions, price hikes or recalls and politics. Too often the "good" news is overshadowed.

It's human nature. If the building next door is on fire, you may not really care if the lady across the street is donating sweaters to the local shelter.

That's why we set aside a special issue each year [download the Nov. 7 digital edition here] to honor the best of us, focusing on out Humanitarian of the year winner.

Our annual Tire Business Tire Dealer Humanitarian of the Year winner Kim McMahon knows what it means to give back. The team at McMahon's Best-One Tire and Auto understands how one can make a difference and grow a business.

Yes, we put a lot of effort and reserve a lot of space to honor our humanitarian. That's the intention.

Our annual winners don't just donate to a charity, they plan and execute long-term initiatives, and they get their staffs involved. Passion for a job can come from a lot of places, including the ones where you know you are making your community better. Maybe you can't change the world, but you can certainly change your world.

While our honoree — who was recognized Oct. 31 at the Tire Industry Honors ceremony in Las Vegas — is at the extreme end of giving back, plenty of people within this industry are doing positive things for positive reasons to better the community they do business in, or the tire industry itself.

As we said, this is a nod to everyone going the extra mile to make your industry a better place.

In this respect, we think the same of supporting the Tire Industry Association (TIA) and the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) at the annual SEMA Show, the biggest aftermarket show in the U.S.; and the Auto Care Association (ACA) at AAPEX. Both shows are held in Las Vegas. We think it still is an important destination for the tire industry.

Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. execs told us how important they feel the SEMA Show is to the brand.

"We believe in SEMA, and I think over the years, we have created the Treadpass as a true destination for participants at SEMA," Tim Chaney, vice president of marketing at Toyo Tire, said.

Tire dealers can also make a difference by preaching the values and possibilities of the industry to anyone who will listen.

New TIA President Jim Pangle said it best that there are so many interesting careers one can find in the tire industry.

"These young people, once they get to see what the tire industry is like and what it has to offer, they realize it could be a possible career for them."

Our humanitarian is launching the McMahon Technical Center to encourage new and existing employees to create a life-long career in the tire and auto service business.

Yes, investing time and money is the ultimate way to support the industry, but simply preaching the good word is, well, good enough.

Building an industry run on passion is a long game that requires a thoughtful approach. So please, take a moment and toast yourself and those around you for making this a better place.