New MPMC Hall of Fame Members

SEMA Member News—March/April 2011

New MPMC Hall of Fame Members

	The MPMC Hall of Fame Class of 2010 includes (from left) Jeep Worthan, John Menzler and Paul “Scooter” Brothers. Chris Fairless (far right) stood in at the induction ceremony for his longtime friend, Amy Faulk.

The Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council (MPMC) inducted four inaugural members to its Hall of Fame during a casual breakfast gathering at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, December 10, 2010. The four inductees were recognized as not only founding members of the MPMC, but also as active members of SEMA, the council and the industry. The affair began at 8:00 a.m., but upward of 100 people had no problem with the early call to share the special moment with the inductees.

“We chose the PRI Show for our inaugural Hall of Fame induction because that’s really the place where motorsports parts manufacturing companies gather,” said MPMC Chairman Kyle Fickler of Weld Racing. “The fact that so many people showed up at 8:00 a.m. is a clear indication of just how special these four people are to the industry. The MPMC Hall of Fame was, apparently, long overdue.”

The MPMC Hall of Fame class of 2010 included Amy Faulk of Hypertech, Paul “Scooter” Brothers of Comp Performance Group, John Menzler of Comp Cams and Jeep Worthan of AutoMeter. Congratulations go to each of the inductees along with a heartfelt thank you from the council.

Vic Wood of Hedman, and also the chair-elect of the MPMC, said that the emotion in the room was nearly overwhelming.

“Our inductees have each received various accolades during their careers,” Wood said, “but they all emphasized how special it is to be recognized by their peers, the motorsports parts manufacturers. Listening to Jeep, Scooter and John talk about their experiences, it honestly made everyone in the room stand a bit taller and be proud to be a part of the industry.”

A follow-up ceremony was held on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, during the media reception at the 2011 MPMC Media Trade Conference. The reception was held at the Embassy Suites LAX South in El Segundo, California.

Select Committee Nominations

MPMC is currently accepting nominations for its Select Committee. Select Committee members volunteer their time to organize events and projects aimed at benefitting not only MPMC members, but also the motorsports parts industry as a whole. Programs that are initiated, developed and maintained by volunteer Select Committee members include the MPMC Media Trade Conference, the MPMC Business Guidelines Manual, motorsports awareness and the MPMC Hall of Fame as well as panel discussions and seminars during SEMA Education Days at the SEMA Show. MPMC is the only SEMA council whose membership is made up entirely of manufacturing companies, many of which are founding members of SEMA. This means that every member of the council shares the same manufacturing business concerns and that the committee works with many people and companies that are directly responsible for the automotive aftermarket industry itself. If you think you might be ready to share the history, commitment and rewards of a Select Committee seat, please contact Jim Skelly at jimsk@sema.org for more information.

Other Ways to Be Involved

There are other ways to get more deeply involved in MPMC aside from serving on the Select Committee. Indeed, several MPMC members at large find time to work on any number of MPMC task forces and committees. Perhaps you would like to contribute or give back to the industry in some way but realize that you simply cannot make the commitment necessary for a Select Committee seat. There is a substantial list of other MPMC service opportunities. If there is a particular subject or issue that interests you, contact Chairman Kyle Fickler, Chairman-Elect Vic Wood or the MPMC/SEMA Council Liaison Jim Skelly to find out how easy it is to participate.

Some of the opportunities include MPMC task forces and committees, such as the MPMC Business Guidelines Manual task force, communications committee, elections/nominations task force, MPMC Hall of Fame task force, Media Trade Conference committee, motorsports awareness committee and seminar/education task force.

If even the task forces seem to be too large of a commitment for your current conditions, please take the time to enter your comments on the MPMC Facebook page (www.facebook.com/semampmc) or join the MPMC group discussions at http://my.sema.org.