Nominations Open for SEMA Person of the Year, Gen-III Innovator

By SEMA Editors

Rich Barsamian of Advanced Clutch Technology was named 2014 SEMA Person of the Year.

Blake Fuller of Braille Battery won SEMA’s 2014 GEN-III Innovator Award.

Nominations are now being accepted for SEMA’s prestigious Person of the Year and Gen-III Innovator of the Year awards. All SEMA members are invited to nominate individuals whose life and work have made a significant impact on the specialty-equipment market. The award winners will be celebrated for their accomplishments at the 2015 SEMA Industry Awards Banquet, Thursday, November 5, during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Person of the Year: The SEMA Person of the Year Award was established in 1969 to honor individuals for their outstanding contributions to the association and the automotive aftermarket as a whole. During the selection process, the task forces takes into consideration the nominees’ service beyond their normal job function over the past year. Full criteria is available on the SEMA Awards page, along with a listing of past honorees. In order to assist the Person of the Year Task Force in making their selection, a brief statement, including the nominee’s accomplishments, is required at the time of submission.

Gen-III Innovator of the Year: SEMA is also seeking nominations to recognize young innovators who exhibit the same pioneering spirit as the original industry founders, and whose work is changing the way the automotive aftermarket does business. He or she may have been the first to act on a new trend, invented an original product or devised and implemented ideas that better suit the current marketplace. Qualifying nominees must be younger than 40 as of December 31, 2015. For more details about the criteria, and to nominate, visit www.sema.org/innovator.

Nominations for both awards are due by 5:00 p.m. (PDT), Friday, July 10. If you have any questions, contact Lindsay Bianco at 909-978-6692 or lindsayb@sema.org.