IOWA
For the 13th year, Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper has awarded scholarships to employees and/or their children to assist in their post-high school education. A total of 16 students were given a $1,000 scholarship to the school of their choice. Parts store recipient Trevor Von Scoy of Arnold Motor Supply in Glidden, and certified service center recipient Devin Dubois of Coyote Motor in Milford were both awarded scholarships.
The Tool & Equipment Distributors Association (TEDA) presented 10 of its top suppliers with vendor awards during its annual “State of TEDA” at the Turf Valley Resort in Maryland. Lisle Corp. in Clarinda received the 2008 President’s Award for Growth and Marketing Achievement.
KANSAS
The Midwest Parts Group added Tony Harris to its outside sales team to assist Roger Battin. Harris has 20 years of experience in sales and service, and was previously employed at Midway Truck Center in Kansas City, Mo. Harris started the position June 1 and will concentrate on the Kansas City market.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Bureau of Waste Management awarded nearly $500,000 in waste-tire recycling grants to municipalities and school districts across the state. Most of the grants will help partially fund the purchase of products that provide safe surfacing at playgrounds and for picnic tables and benches made from waste tires. This year, 48 waste-tire recycling grants, ranging from $269 to $79,315, were distributed to recipients across the state. The grants are funded from a 25-cent tax paid on the purchase of each new tire.
Max Kuhlman is the new president of the Mid-America Tire Dealers Association. He will serve a one-year term. Kuhlman is the petroleum station manager at Central Plains Co-op in Athol. Membership will be his focus, he said, as it has of many past presidents. He said membership is the “big deal”-–more members mean more representation and a stronger industry.
On June 3, ColorVision, a paint, body, and equipment distributor (PBE) headquartered in Springfield, Mo., sponsored a seminar for body shop owners, managers, and estimators. The seminar was led by Mark Clark, a veteran in the PBE industry, and featured PBE speaker. The event was at Barley’s Brewhaus in Shawnee and provided profitable solutions to improve collision repair shops finance, production, and sales.
MISSOURI
One of the oldest engine parts distributors in America has expanded into New England. Based in Kansas City, Sterling Bearing Inc. has located its new branch at the former location of New England Engine and Parts Warehouse in Worcester, Mass. The new operation has been named New England Engine Pro. Sterling’s chief operating officer, Steve Rich, said, “Our expansion into the East Coast will strengthen the Engine Pro name along the eastern seaboard and will provide full coverage of quality engine parts.”
Larry Leibrand of Kansas City was selected as the 10th NAPA Auto Parts honorary crew member of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series at the NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park in Topeka. Leibrand is the owner of Riverside Automotive in Riverside. NAPA Kansas City District Manager Keith Finlay said he felt it fitting to select Leibrand as the NAPA Honorary Crew Member due to the “loyal business that he has given us over the years.”
NEBRASKA
Tom Finch is the new body shop manager at Rusty Eck Ford of Omaha. Finch has been the operations manager at Gregg Young Chevrolet in Omaha. Finch is also an I-CAR instructor.
SOUTH DAKOTA
For the fifth year in a row, Nordstrom Automotive in Sioux Falls helped raise funds for the Sioux Falls chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Each year, a “Resurrected Ride” is assembled, and tickets are sold to raffle off the vehicle. All donations are given to the MDA. This year’s vehicle was a Chevy Colorado.
