In This Issue
- Kevin Reilly Receives Wash. Business Journal’s 2020 Citizenship Award
- Ourisman of Virginia’s Foundation Donates $10,000 to ADEI
- Maryland MVA Hosting Electronic Services Portal Training for Dealers
- Expedited Vehicle Lien Release Takes Effect in Md. on Jan. 1
- Md. MVA Conducting Enforcement of Reconditioning Fee Disclosures
- WANADA’s John O’Donnell Delivers Gifts to Needy Families
- Push Continues to Make PPP Expenses Tax-Deductible in Next Stimulus
- Advertising Opportunities in the 2021 WANADA Directory
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WANADA Board of Directors Chairman Kevin Reilly, who serves as owner and president of Alexandria Hyundai, was given the 2020 Corporate Philanthropy Citizenship Award for his work with Children’s National Hospital. Reilly serves on the Corporate Advisory Council for Children’s National, and works to increase awareness of, and funding for, Children’s National through a variety of programs and events.
As a board member of Hyundai Hope on Wheels, Reilly’s commitment to community service has always been strong. Since its inception in 1998, Hyundai Hope on Wheels has donated more than $172 million in pediatric cancer grants across the United States. Hyundai Hope on Wheels has been a long-time supporter of Children’s National, and its pediatric cancer research efforts. To date, Hyundai Hope on Wheels has donated approximately $2 million to Children’s National in support of its pediatric cancer research.
When COVID-19 struck earlier this year, Hyundai Hope on Wheels and Reilly pivoted their efforts to support COVID-19 drive through testing centers throughout the nation. Given the nature of the economic downturn, resources were scarce and hospitals were in desperate need of funding.
Hyundai Hope on Wheels, with the support of Reilly and fellow board members, donated $200,000 to Children’s National’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, and also provided an additional 15,000 PCR tests to the hospital in April. At a time when testing was hard to find, but still very much in need, the donation allowed Children’s National to launch a testing site in Northeast Washington that benefitted many in-need area residents who otherwise may not have been able to get tested – particularly children who are at-risk due to immunodeficiencies caused by cancer treatments.
“These funds can provide the assurance to a parent so they know where their child stands in regard to Covid-19,” Reilly told the Washington Business Journal. “It’s amazing to see the leadership on the part of Children’s National and it makes perfect sense to support them. We wanted to get the resources to people that could put them to use quickly and efficiently. I was at the testing site myself and was amazed by the passion of everyone there. It was inspiring.” Read More
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WANADA would like to thank Ourisman of Virginia’s Major King Foundation for generously supporting the Automobile Dealer Education Institute with a $10,000 donation. WANADA extends its thanks to Lou King Breault, Executive Vice President at Ourisman of Virginia, and her entire organization for their donation, which will go directly towards helping train next semester’s service technician apprentices in Fairfax and Montgomery counties.
Donations to ADEI also help the 501(c)(3) charity recruit the ASE-certified instructors who provide trainees with instruction in the workshops at Northern Virginia Community College and Montgomery College. The funds also help program participants get a professional set of tools to help start them on the path towards a stable, upwardly-mobile career as a dealer service technician.
WANADA’s ADEI program is growing at a faster rate than at any time in its history, and helps dealers source, train, and educate reliable technicians. WANADA is honored to be able to continue this valuable initiative, and we could not do it without the support of our dealers and other philanthropic organizations across the Washington region.
For more information on ADEI, please visit the program’s website. If you would like to support ADEI with a tax-deductible contribution, please contact Joe Koch at jk@wanada.org.
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The Maryland MVA will be hosting four virtual training sessions for dealers and title service agents to help train them on how to use the state’s new eService portal. According to a Bulletin the MVA issued on Tuesday, the portal will allow for some work that currently needs to be dropped off at the MVA to be submitted electronically. WANADA strongly encourages our members to participate in one of the training sessions and to take advantage of the portal.
The training sessions last one hour; the first session will be held tomorrow (Dec. 3) at 1 p.m., and there will be additional training sessions on December 8, 9, and 11.
To register for the free training, please contact Kimberly Williams of the MVA at kwilliams1@mdot.maryland.gov, or by calling 410-787-7951. You will be provided an access link for the session you chose.
WANADA was also honored to join MVA Administrator Christine Nizer on an interactive process improvement webinar earlier this week, which featured appointed dealer representatives, tag and title agents, and dealer advocacy groups from around the state.
WANADA is grateful for the professional and responsive leadership of Administrator Nizer, and for her willingness to engage dealers in the shared interest of making the MVA’s services as user-friendly as possible.
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The Maryland MVA published official guidance last month that all motor vehicle-related lien releases must be filed with the administration within five business days of the lien being paid off. WANADA thanks its dealers, advocacy partners, and affiliate organizations in Annapolis, who helped promote the joint House and Senate bills that passed unanimously and which made this outcome possible.
For more information on how motor-vehicle lienholders can sign up for electronic lien services, please click this link. WANADA also thanks the legislators who introduced these bills in the 2020 session – Sen. Justin Ready (R-Carroll), and Dels. Mary Lehman (D-Prince George’s) and Dana Stein (D-Baltimore County).
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The Maryland MVA is conducting enhanced compliance enforcement of its dealer advertising guidelines, which can be viewed here.
We want to remind all our dealers in the state that “reconditioning fees” must be included in the most prominently listed price of the car, in advertisements and also on window signage. The most prominent displayed price may only exclude freight, the dealer processing charge, taxes, and title fees that are paid to the state, though all these charges must also be displayed prominently.
If you have any questions, please contact Joe Koch at jk@wanada.org. At this time, we have no knowledge of any investigations involving WANADA members, though there have been several investigations of used car dealers across the state.
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John O’Donnell, WANADA’s President and CEO, helped deliver dinner and happiness to some Northern Virginia residents on Thanksgiving – a day that, even outside of a global pandemic, can be quite difficult for low-income Americans, particularly those with a low English-language proficiency.
O’Donnell volunteered with Canastas de Amor (Spanish for “Baskets of Love”), an Alexandria-based charity that helps provide needy families in Latin America with groceries and other necessities. During Thanksgiving, the organization provides needy families in the Washington region, particularly non-English speaking households, with gift baskets that are “blessed with love” and delivered to their doorstep.
Donors to Canastas de Amor give anonymously, so the recipients do not feel a sense of obligation for receiving these necessities during this difficult time. O’Donnell and other volunteers gathered at Del Ray Baptist Church in the early hours of Thanksgiving Day, and did a round of deliveries to area residents who otherwise would not have been able to enjoy a traditional holiday meal.
For more information on the valuable work that Canastas de Amor does year-round, both in this region and throughout Latin America, please visit their website.
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Before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service issued a ruling that expenses that were forgiven by Paycheck Protection Program loans would not be tax-deductible. This decision prompted a bi-partisan response from U.S. senators who hope to overturn the Treasury ruling via legislation, and make PPP-forgiven business expenses tax deductible before 2020 comes to an end.
The federal government’s current funding bill only runs through December 11, so the best opportunity for additional tax-deductibility language to be passed into law will likely be ahead of that deadline. The HEROES Act, which the House passed in the spring but has since languished in the Republican-controlled Senate, would have codified tax-deductibility status for business expenses that were covered by PPP loans.
It is unclear if the bi-partisan proposal would include tax-deductibility for forgiven expenses (it appears that Sen. McConnell’s proposal does not), but any legislation would likely need to clear the Senate Finance Committee, whose chairman and ranking member authored the letter advocating for a legislative fix that ensures forgiveness.
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The 2021 WANADA membership directory is already being developed, and we invite all Kindred-Line members to advertise in this year’s book, which is delivered directly to all our members. Both full-page and half-page ad slots are available, along with other options including cover pages, inserts, and more.
Advertisements are due by February 1, 2021, and the directory is currently scheduled to be delivered in March. For more information, please contact Bob Storin at rs@wanada.org, or by calling 301-335-8289.
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The WANADA Bulletin is Sponsored by the Following Kindred-Line Members:
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