With wheel and tire professionals, business owners, and leaders from the WTC reunited at the 2021 SEMA Show, the council took part in a historic milestone as participants of the largest North American automotive trade show since 2019. Among the highlights of the council activities was the annual WTC Reception.
“The WTC reception is a favorite event for our members. This year, the night had an extra energy that seemed to kick off the SEMA Show at a new level,” said WTC Chair Todd Steen.
Over 130 wheel and tire colleagues joined the reception, where Tyson Boyer of Dill Air Controls was awarded the Immediate Past Chair (IPC) award for his dedication to the council and industry.
Other popular council activities included the WTC Happy Hour, Coffee and Conversation, and The Stage, powered by WTC. The Stage debuted in 2019 and returned for its second year with interviews from experts discussing some of the industry’s hot topics. One particularly noteworthy session from The Stage featured WTC Chair Todd Steen, WTC Chair-Elect Mike Lusso, and WTC Immediate Past Chair Tyson Boyer sharing the council’s initiatives for 2022.
“There are a couple of task forces that we are putting together. We have [a task force for] people who are trying to recruit and keep retentions in place; we have another task force that is trying to communicate louder and prouder; and another task force that is looking at WTC SEMA Show events,” said Steen. “But what we’ll be putting a lot of resources and time in for is the Education task force.”
Education will be at the forefront of providing member value next year, and the council has announced it will continue its virtual education series for 2022. WTC leadership will also support its membership by creating new resource committees, which WTC member company employees can sign up to volunteer for.
“What participation really looks like is we have monthly meetings, then each of the task forces will have their own monthly meetings,” said Lusso. “We meet and build action plans to go forward, not to just talk about the news and what we’ve done in the past couple of months. We talk about what are we doing next, and that’s what we’re moving towards, every single time, every meeting.”
“You can’t deny the networking opportunity that comes with being a volunteer,” added Steen. “You cannot be part of WTC and not grow your sphere of influence.”
To inquire about current volunteer opportunities, email WTC Director Nicole Bradle at nicoleb@sema.org. For the latest WTC membership news and resources, visit www.sema.org/wtc.