About 80 people packed the house to attend the California Tire Dealers Association (CTDA)/1-800EveryRim New Year Luncheon on Jan. 17, 2018. Host Billy Eordekian, president of 1-800EveryRim.com-OEM Wheels and a CTDA board member, said he came up with the idea for the event several years ago because it brings suppliers, wholesalers and retailers together in a relaxed atmosphere to start off the new year. It has become an annual function.
The event was held at the Dal Rae Restaurant in Pico Rivera, Calif.
CTDA President Chris Barry served as master of ceremonies, with Tire Industry Association (TIA) Past President Tom Formanek and Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Wheel & Tire Council Chairman Gregory Parker handling the main speaker duties.
Formanek, regional sales manager of Stellar Industries Inc., discussed some of TIA’s key initiatives, while Parker, national account sales and marketing director for North America for Wegmann automotive USA Inc., discussed its upcoming Feb. 20 membership meeting to be held in Phoenix, Ariz.
The event was upbeat, but several CTDA members did use the opportunity to encourage those in attendance to actively recruit new members for the association to give it a larger voice within the industry and state.
1-800 EveryRim OEM Wheels was the host, and Federated Mutual Insurance Co. was the social hour host while Yokohama Tire Corp. and Pirelli Tire North America Inc. and Lakin Tire were gold sponsors, with the silver sponsors consisting of American Tire Depot, Net Driven and Turbo Wholesale Tire Inc.
