Jason Caldwell of RPS Marketing has been Appointed to CAWA’s Manufacturers' Advisory Council
Jason Caldwell of RPS Marketing has been appointed to CAWA’s Board of Directors. During the appointment process, Young Suhr Jr., Chair of the Board of Directors, commented: “I am pleased to announce that Jason Caldwell is joining the CAWA Board of Directors. He has participated in the Association’s Manufacturers' Advisory Council for some time and now the Board. I look forward to Jason’s continued participation and contributions to CAWA in assisting the Association in achieving its goals as an effective and valuable automotive care industry organization”, continued Suhr.
Mr. Caldwell is starting his 20th year with RPS Marketing where he has been working with key automotive distributors throughout California for the last 8 years to help grow their business with key suppliers and pull through sales out in the field. Prior to that he spent 12 years with RPS up in the North West covering Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Western Montana working with key automotive and hardware customers in that territory. Jason works hard not only at the WD level but also at the service dealer and jobber level meeting with them to talk about their business, what they are seeing from a customer standpoint, and what they see their needs are from their suppliers/WD partners. In 2020 Jason moved into the director of sales role with RPS and also became a partner in the company.
Jason volunteers nationally with the Auto Care Association as a member of the Manufactures Rep Council and in March of 2023 Jason completed the Leadership 2.0 course through Northwood University. In his free time, he is busy with his wife of 25 years Lori and their two boys. Along with that he enjoys working and restoring classic cars, spending time outdoors, and playing and watching sports.
See complete press release here. Welcome to the Board of Directors, Jason!
| |
|
Vinni Uzzardo of Standard Motor Products (SMP) has been Appointed to CAWA’s Manufacturers' Advisory Council
During the appointment process, Young Suhr, Jr., Chair of the Board of Directors, commented: “We are pleased to have Vinni join our leadership team and contribute to our discussions of current and future industry issues”. “We look forward to his participation and contributions which will assist the Association in achieving its goals as an effective and valuable automotive aftermarket industry organization”, continued Suhr.
Mr. Uzzardo has 38 years of automotive aftermarket experience. He started his career working at his family’s jobber store in the south suburbs of Chicago. After graduating from Northern Illinois University in 1992, he went to work for All Products Automotive, an Auto Value Warehouse, in Chicago. He was the marketing manager for six years and served on the Auto Value Marketing Board for two years. In 1998, Mr. Uzzardo went back to the family business. They expanded to three stores while his main focus was on controlling inventories and managing store personnel. In 2004, he had an opportunity to join the Standard Motor Products sales team. He spent the first ten years of his SMP career as a Territory Manger covering Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, & Wisconsin. In 2014, he moved to Las Vegas and became a Division Manager responsible for Advance/CARQUEST. The team he managed covered Nashville to Hawaii. Since 2022 he has been the Western Regional Sales Manager responsible for traditional sales. The team he manages covers Colorado to Hawaii.
See the complete press release here. Welcome to CAWA’s Leadership!
| |
|
CAWA Leadership & Educational Forum - June 21-23, 2023 - Hilton Long Beach | |
Here is a preliminary taste of contemporary industry issues to be presented at the Forum:
-
“Vehicle Technology Drives Future Strategies”, presented by Chris Gardner, MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers
-
“How Repair & Service Operators Will Thrive”, presented by Rick Schwartz ,Schwartz Advisors , and
-
“Promoting the Human Condition – Education in the Aftermarket”, presented by Dr. Timothy Litzinger, AAP, University of the Aftermarket
So, along with the Pacific Ocean, YANG Regional Meet–Up, guest presentations, networking with customers and industry colleagues, and Southern California Jazz musicians (see https://youtube.com/watch?v=oHsINMUGqTY), you will find it all at the Forum. A perfect venue to network with your colleagues; join us in beautiful Long Beach, California! See registration materials here.
| |
|
CAWA thanks its June meeting sponsors for their generous support: | |
|
Another Example of Industry Support of CAWA
See the below video. CAWA appreciates Old World Industries, their CAWA MAC member Rich Zeichner and Race Car Driver John Force for their gracious support.
| |
A Report from CAWA’s Arizona’s Legislative Advocate – the State’s Budget | |
Very few legislative events are more complicated than the enactment of the state budget. Prior to the start of the legislative session, most members of the Capitol community, present company included, projected a protracted budget process, likely edging up towards the start of the fiscal year that begins on July 1st. These expectations were largely validated by the Governor’s quick veto of the Republican baseline budget enacted at the beginning of the legislative session. Yet, this week, in fairly quick fashion, the Senate and House approved a genuine bipartisan $17.8 billion budget. While to some degree the votes varied from bill to bill, in general, the budget passed out of the Senate by a consistent 25-5 margin. The House followed suit with nearly two-thirds supporting the same negotiated budget.
Despite the clear bipartisan nature of the budget negotiated between the Governor and Republican Leadership, Democrats objected to the process, arguing that Democratic Leadership was not included in the early discussions. While Democratic Leadership was reportedly meeting directly with the Governor separately from the combined discussions, they were only being brought into the joint meetings towards the end of the process.
While most members of the Minority Caucus ultimately supported the budget, there was significant criticism that the budget did not adequately reflect the priories of many rank-and-file Democrats, arguing that the budget agreement was weighted disproportionately in favor of the Republican majority. Read more here.
| |
|
Is Service Part of Selling? | This week’s quote that prompted this article, “I like doing deliveries. I look at that as end-to-end sales. I sell it, make sure everything goes smoothly and then finally I deliver it and make sure they’re happy.” On the surface, it sounds good, right? I mean that makes sense except for one thing: the definition of salesperson is someone who sells, not someone who sells it, takes care of all the paperwork, financing, etc., preps it, and finally delivers it. I find that for whatever reason, whether it’s the fear of rejection, or simply not wanting to call on strangers because it’s hard to do, many salespeople will fill their day with service issues and other items that can easily be done by other people, and have little or nothing to do with the actual sales process. But, as the lifeblood of the organization, it is critical for salespeople to spend as much time as possible on sales tasks. Organizations survive, thrive, or die based on the level of sales revenue. If a company sells enough product, at a high enough profit margin, and doesn’t do anything illegal, it stays in business, if it doesn’t sell enough to pay the bills, it doesn’t stay in business. Sales keep everything else alive and moving. Yes, the other parts are important but with no sales or low sales, the company dies. As a result, your salespeople need to be freed up to sell as much as possible. This means having adequate support people for deliveries, billing questions, and other non-sales-related tasks. See more explanation here. Source: John Chapin | |
|
Value & Benefits of CAWA Membership
- Networking with industry colleagues to bring insight, solutions and value to you and your company...
- Providing you with contemporary information on industry issues and government regulations, laws and initiatives to assure your knowledge is current...
- Engaging you in education and current business information which will impact your skills and your company’s success...
- Advocating on your behalf to assure “a collective voice” to legislative bodies and in the halls of government to minimize intrusive intervention into your business...
See the brief video below that further explains the value and benefits of CAWA membership and member testimonials on why the Association is important to its members and the auto care industry.
| |
|
California’s Focus on Pay Equity Increases Responsibilities for Employers | See the “white paper” here for a further understanding. The paper details the constellation of statutes and their regulations with a focus on employer compliance issues, tips and best practices. Source: Our Friends at the California Chamber of Commerce | |
|
Digital License Plate Law Creates Privacy Headache for Employers | A new state law that allows for digital license plates to be installed on vehicles in California, may have created a privacy nightmare for employers. The Motor Vehicle Digital Number Plates Act, which took effect Jan. 1, enables fleet and commercial vehicle owners to purchase and install digital license plates and soon-to-be-approved alternative devices for tags, stickers, tabs, and registration codes that can track vehicles and make vehicle registration easier. The new law has significant implications for fleet and commercial vehicle owners that want to track vehicles using a digital license plate or alternative GPS device, and they will need to follow the law’s driver disclosure requirements to avoid fines. See details here. Source: Our partners at Armstrong & Associates | |
|
Employers Have Until July 25, 2023 to Implement New OFCCP Disability Self-Identification Form
On April 25, 2023, the Office of Management and Budget approved the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) updated form prospective and current employees must use to voluntarily self-identify as an individual with a disability. The form is applicable to federal contractors and subcontractors subject to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires contractors to invite applicants to self-identify as disabled at the pre-offer stage, and to invite new hires and incumbent employees to self-identify. Federal contractors use this self-identification information to support required affirmative action programs. Learn More. Source: Littler
| |
|
New California Rule to End ICE Truck Sales by 2036 | There are about 150 existing medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission trucks that are commercially available in the U.S. today. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved a rule that requires a phased-in transition toward zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Known as Advanced Clean Fleets, the new rule helps put California on a path toward fully transitioning the trucks that travel across the state to zero-emissions technology by 2045. The Advanced Clean Fleets rule includes an end to combustion truck sales in 2036. The rule also provides fleet owners flexibility and regulatory certainty to the heavy-duty market, CARB says. See more here. Source: The Buzz – EV News | |
|
Don’t Let This Opportunity Slip Away - Tell Your Local High School Teacher about Scholarship Awards for Automotive High School Teachers – Apply Now | The oftentimes forgotten individuals in educating and training students in preparation for automotive careers is the high school automotive teacher. Whether it’s their use of personal funds to keep their programs going or their need for certification to keep their instructor and program status, CAWA wants to assist them in achieving success. The Association has established a scholarship program to help these teachers in several ways, including financially. Access to industry training being conducted by CAWA members could be made available to the automotive high school teachers for their own knowledge and development. Teachers that are interested in applying for a scholarship should complete an application for consideration, found here (PDF) or contact programs@cawa.org. Application deadline is May 31, 2023. | |
|
Check Out CAWA’s Partners FREE VIP Services – Could Save You Thousands of Dollars! | |
Benefits plan administration is more complex than ever, and compliance is a growing concern, especially with ACA related changes. CoreMark’s team of highly qualified Employee Benefits Consultants offer CAWA members their valuable support tools and resources proactively helping businesses be in compliance. CoreMark advises CAWA members on how to make the best possible benefits investment decisions for their business as well as attracting and retaining the best talent to grow their business.
- Health
- Dental
- Vision
- Life & Disability
Free VIP Services to Save You Money!
Mat Nabity, CAWA Program Manager
CoreMark Insurance Services
Toll Free (866) 340-2247
Direct (916) 286-0918; Fax (916) 923-2797
Email: mnabity@coremarkins.com; license # 0172684
| |
|
Copyright 2023, All Rights Reserved | | | | |
