Wishing You a Happy Holiday Season, After a Year Like No Other
Dear WANADA Members,
During this most unusual holiday season, I want to thank you, your employees, and your families for your unyielding tenacity during the most unpredictable and challenging year that most of us have lived through. I know I speak for everyone at WANADA when I say that it has been an honor to serve as your advocates, and that we are so grateful for your support.
Over the past 103 years, WANADA, and its members, have experienced two world wars, a depression, many recessions, domestic and foreign turmoil, and many different political and regulatory climates. But 2020 brought us nearly all of those things at once, along with an unprecedented health crisis that has changed nearly every facet of our daily lives.
WANADA, along with our advocacy partners in Annapolis and Richmond, plus our amazing representatives at NADA, proudly and successfully fought to ensure that our dealer members could continue providing essential services throughout this pandemic. You, and all our members, have taken this privilege seriously and prioritized the safety of your employees, your customers, and your families.
You all grasped the severity of this crisis early on, and you took great care to ensure that you could continue providing these crucial services in a safe and responsible manner. From growing online sales capacities, to offering delivery and at-home service appointments, your commitment to your workers and your customers has been truly admirable, and we are fortunate to be able to stand by you.
On our end, in the early days of the pandemic, WANADA was able to provide continuity of service even while much of the staff was suddenly forced to work remotely. The organization helped our members understand how to keep their employees safe, and how to help wade through the sudden and drastic economic changes happening right under all of our feet. We will continue to provide the great services you have always expected from us, as we look forward to hopefully returning to a “new normal” at some point in 2021.
Of course, we had to cancel or modify many of our flagship member events in the last nine months of 2020 – from cancelling the WANADA Open, to shifting to our first-ever virtual Annual Meeting. We were extremely fortunate to be able to host the 2020 Washington, D.C. Auto Show prior to the pandemic hitting, and we are very hopeful to be able to host a show in 2021 that meets the high standards that our attendees, participating manufacturers, and members expect. The same goes for our other in-person events; when it is safe to resume them, we will.
With multiple vaccines being distributed to high-risk Americans now, and the general public over the coming months, there is light at the end of the tunnel. We should all be optimistic that there truly will be a return to some level of normalcy in the relative near future, and be excited for what that means: safety for ourselves and our loved ones, a better and safer working environment, and an improving economy as we return to a world of stability and predictability.
As 2020 comes to a close, I hope you are able to spend time with those who are closest to you, while doing so safely. It feels like we’re all learning how many things that we took for granted before the pandemic. I’m hopeful that, as we emerge from this crisis in 2021, we will do so stronger, and more focused, than ever before.
Thank you, as always, for being a supporter of WANADA. We are here for you, and we are thankful that you have been there for us. I hope you, your employees, and your families all have a safe and restful holiday season.
Sincerely,
John O'Donnell
WANADA President and CEO
