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| SEMA Chairman Rick Rollins (left) and PWA President Donnie Eatherly (right) recognize PWA Persons of the Year Chris Thomson (second from left) and Adrian Murray. |
Every year, the Performance Warehouse Association (PWA) announces its Manufacturer and Person of the Year awards at the SEMA Show. This year, PWA selected a duo in each category, naming AIRAID Filter Company’s Chris Thomson and Adrian Murray of Painless Performance its Persons of the Year. PWA also recognized AIRAID and K&N Engineering as its Manufacturers of the Year.
The award winners shared their gratitude with the industry that helped them achieve their recognition.
“K&N is honored to have been voted Manufacturer of the Year by the members of the Performance Warehouse Association,” said Steve Rogers, president and CEO of K&N Engineering. “There are many great manufacturers in our industry, and it is a great accomplishment to be identified as one of the best.
“The last few years have been challenging for our industry, and we have tried to be a good supplier and listen to our customers," Rogers explained. "We’ve continued to expand our product line while making improvements in quality, shipping performance and customer service. K&N has continued to work to generate business for our dealers with one of the most extensive marketing and advertising programs in the industry.
“In 2009, we made more than 1 million consumer referrals to local K&N brick-and-mortar dealers. This award is the result of the work and dedication of the entire K&N team as well as the support of our suppliers, distributors and retail dealers. We thank PWA for this award.”
Adrian Murray, president of Painless Performance, added that he was "deeply honored to have been recognized as Person of the Year by the Performance Warehouse Association, and also to share this honor with my good friend, Chris Thomson. I am very mindful of the fact that it takes a lot of people in the background doing very great things in order for me to receive this type of recognition.
"We have a superb team here at Painless who never hesitate to go the extra mile and put forth that extra effort to ensure the success of the company; they make my job very easy," Murray continued. "To the members of PWA, and indeed to all of our customers and friends, thank you for this honor. I will always strive to live up to the ideals and the principles this award represents."
Chris Thomson accepted both Person of the Year Award and Manufacturer of the Year Award on behalf of AIRAID.
"We’d like to thank the members of PWA for this distinguished Manufacturer of the Year Award," Thomson said. "During these tough economic times, it is an honor to be recognized with this award. We gladly accept it and take it as a challenge to continue performing at the highest level.
On his Person of the Year award, Thomson added: "Thank you members of the PWA for this true honor. I was proud to be considered alongside my friends Rick Sparks and Adrian Murray, all of whom I admire greatly. I also want to thank my boss and friend John Levitz and everyone at AIRAID for their everyday support of my efforts, and most of all, my wife Kathie and daughters Kristin and Emily for their understanding of the passion and time that I put into my job.”