LAS VEGAS — In a way, Keith Jarman's tenure as president of the Tire Industry Association board of directors never will end.
Even though the founder and president of AME International passed the gavel and the presidency to Debra Hamlin, director of operations at Bridgestone Commercial Dealer Network, during TIA's annual membership meeting Nov. 4 in Las Vegas, Jarman ensured his memories will survive forever.
Jarman documented his term as TIA president, as well as other industry happenings, on a podcast he hosted, called "As the Tire Turns." The name is quite appropriate: Jarman's company manufactures tire changing tools and equipment.
Episode 24, which was released in early November, is the final one of the series, all available on YouTube.
Jarman said his predecessors shared one common thread: the one-year term goes fast. Thus, he created the podcast, featuring industry people who have influenced him as well as others he has come to know.
The podcast, he said, was a way to "slow it down" and "memorialize" his term.
Reflecting on his tenure moments after turning the presidency over to Hamlin, Jarman said one of his big takeaways is how well-run TIA is.
"The staff does the heavy lifting," he said.
"Having been on the board for a number of years ... a new person comes in and sometimes maybe goes a different direction than the previous administration," Jarman told Tire Business. "But the bulk of everything is in a great shape, right? And if we can just provide a little bit of governance and work together, that's the main thing."
He said presidents often take office with a bold vision, "but you can't always get it done. It's important to work together."
Two of TIA's most important missions, he said, are training and government affairs.
"(Those) are absolutely the driving force," he said. "Being the authority on tire safety and just representing the industry and with government affairs, well, I always say it's not sexy. It's kind of the unsung hero. But when something's coming up that could be restrictive ... they can rally members and hopefully, educate and communicate, rather than legislate and regulate, right?
"That's the strength of the association."
He said providing safety is TIA's number one priority. He recalled the days when technicians only learned by shadowing a "veteran technician," who would show the newbie all the tricks and traps of the trade.
Today, he said, because of TIA's efforts, led by Chief Technical Officer Kevin Rohlwing, more than 230,000 technicians have been trained. And he pointed out that programs not only are available for commercial truck tire safety, but also for farm and earthmover tire safety.
"That's the guiding light," Jarman said. "Changing tires can still be very dangerous. There's still far too many fatalities, but TIA has done an absolutely amazing job in educating ... on social media, you see forums online ..."
He said that a decade ago, if someone questioned a tire changing procedure, that person would have been "kind of run off by the mob."
Today, he said, the opposite is true.
"For every yahoo, or I like to call them, cowboys, who post some sort of wild, wild west stuff, people will weigh in, and 70 to 80% will say, 'hey, if you're working for our company, that's automatic dismissal.'
"So they recognize the need for safety."
Jarman said the work Roy Littlefield IV does in his role as vice president of government affairs, is equally as important, fighting regulations, educating the public and rallying members behind a cause.
"You can't just walk in into Congress and talk to (lawmakers)," Jarman said. "He knows how it works and knows the rules. He's done an incredible job. It doesn't grab the attention, but he's kind of the unsung hero."
The organization, he said, is in great hands with Hamlin.
"She's absolutely fantastic," he said. "She has strengths where I'm absolutely weak. She's operationally very sound and proficient."
Jarman plans to take a year off. He's been asked if he would consider a future role within the organization.
"It's time for the youth, the next generation, right?" he said.
But he said he will be continue to stay involved in the tire industry.
"As cheesy as it may sound, I love the tire industry," he said. "It's been very, very good to me, and I've enjoyed the people I've met."
As transportation and logistics evolve, and as electric vehicles become more prevalent in the automotive industry, Jarman is reminded of one fact.
"There's still rubber meeting the road, right?"
