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July 08, 2020 11:00 AM

Zielasko: Remembering mentor, friend, industry great Chuck Slaybaugh

Dave Zielasko
Former Tire Business publisher
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    Dave Zielasko, the Tire Industry Association's VP of marketing and communications, is the former editor and publisher of Tire Business. 

    Sometimes, if you're lucky, you meet someone who makes a profound impact on both your life and career.

    Former Tire Business Executive Editor Chuck Slaybaugh, who died June 28 at age 80, was that person for me.

    My dad, Ernie Zielasko, set us up. He and Chuck worked together at Modern Tire Dealer, where Dad was editor and publisher and Chuck was part of the editorial team. The two developed a close bond.

    Chuck considered my dad his mentor. Eventually Dad left MTD to cofound Rubber & Plastics News (RPN) and later sold the publication to Crain Communications Inc., where he stayed for 10 years. During that time, he started Tire Business for Crain along with several other publications.

    Former Tire Business Executive Editor Chuck Slaybaugh

    Chuck, meanwhile, replaced my dad as MTD's editor and later became editorial director before he too left that magazine to write a book called the "Grandparent's Catalog: An Idea Book for Family Sharing," which is available for purchase on Amazon.

    Even though they no longer worked together, Chuck and my dad stayed close, and eventually Chuck rejoined him at Crain Communications, initially as a free-lance writer, then special projects editor for RPN and TB.

    Chuck and I began working together, and he became my mentor after my father retired in 1987.

    As I began working with Chuck it didn't take me long to realize how much I didn't know as a young editor. When a news event happened in the industry, Chuck often knew the back story and was happy to share it with me and everyone else on the staff to help make our stories more complete.

    He loved the industry's history, and he taught me to love it, too. If you want to know about the tire industry's storied history, look at the bylines in legendary issues such as the "NTDRA at 75: A Celebration of Tire Dealer Independence," "The Pneumatic Tire Industry: Celebrating 100 years," and "The Independent Tire Dealer. Still King of Tire Retailing." You will get absorbed in the articles Chuck penned on the industry's history.

    Chuck also regularly tackled the toughest, most complex and sensitive news articles. He taught me how to write them in ways that protected individuals but did not weaken the stories.

    When writing about business as a trade publication, he said, you have to understand that not all sources are allowed to speak on behalf of their company. They often don't even know that they shouldn't and can be fired if something they said upsets the boss. So, make sure you are talking to legitimate sources who can speak on behalf of their companies, he reminded me.

    He also taught me about the importance of running people stories, such as the time he interviewed TB cartoonist Dave Harbaugh. Readers loved Dave's humor and artwork but had no idea about the man. It was a fascinating story that brought greater appreciation of his work.

    Chuck also impressed upon me how readers love pictures of babies and little kids, even in a tire publication. TB's coverage of trade shows and conferences often had a baby or two on the photo pages.

    Chuck and I were in the office on deadline day in late November 1986 when Sir James Goldsmith ended his takeover bid for Goodyear. He led the charge to rip up the issue, which was almost completed, and replace it with stories freshly written about the culmination of what had been months of drama.

    I could see the pride and satisfaction in Chuck's face when we finally put that issue to bed around midnight. I don't think he had ever been involved in such a fast-paced deadline experience, and he loved it.

    Chuck treated everyone with kindness, loved the outdoors, loved his family and loved his friends and co-workers. He befriended everyone, like freelancer and retired industry PR rep Dave Roberts.

    When TB wanted to start a ranking of commercial tire dealers in North America, Chuck tapped Dave to do the research. Years later, Chuck would pick up Dave regularly for lunch and drive him to doctors' visits.

    Chuck and I spent lots of time talking about the industry, about life, about our families, about managing a publication. We talked about the business savvy and generosity of independent tire dealers. Somewhere out of these discussions came one of our best ideas at Tire Business, the Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award.

    We wanted to create an award for the industry that would be meaningful and inspire others. Suddenly it hit us. Let's recognize tire dealers who make giving back to others a priority.

    To symbolize the spirit of people helping each other, we had a medal cast showing two hands, one reaching slightly upward toward the other, accepting that person's assistance.

    The hand reaching upward was mine, and the one offering help was Chuck's. I will forever remember my mentor, co-worker, and above all friend, Chuck Slaybaugh.

    Mr. Zielasko is the former editor and publisher of Tire Business. He currently is vice president of marketing and communications for the Tire Industry Association.

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    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].

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