YEN Announces Award Winners

	The annual Young Executives Network (YEN) reception—combined for the first time this year with the Street Performance Council (SPC) reception—was held at the Las Vegas Hilton during the 2011 SEMA Show.

The annual Young Executives Network (YEN) reception—combined for the first time this year with the Street Performance Council (SPC) reception—was held Tuesday night, November 1, at the Las Vegas Hilton, Pavilion 1&2, during the 2011 SEMA Show. The reception allowed attendees the opportunity to network with peers and industry leaders, including members of the SEMA Board of Directors, SEMA staff and SEMA Hall of Fame members.

Each year at the networking reception, YEN announces the winners of its annual awards, including the Young Executive of the Year, the Vanguard and the SPC/YEN Industry Icon.

The YEN Vanguard Award was presented to John Hotchkis of Hotchkis Suspension. As a 20-year member of the aftermarket and a current member of the SEMA Board of Directors, Hotchkis has inspired, influenced and mentored dozens of young SEMA members. He was an active YEN member, is active on the Motor-sports Parts Manufacturers Council and is passionate about his work on the board. Specializing in suspension for musclecars (among the first in the industry), he founded Hotchkis Performance in 1992. Since then, he has employed dozens of young people, inspiring them all. He continues to offer internships to students in the engineering departments of several local universities, and several employees whom he hired as teenagers still work for him nearly 20 years later. He recently fought and defeated cancer, and he remains an inspiration to us all.

The Young Executive of the Year Award was presented to Dan Dolan of DiabloSport Incorporated. Dolan worked tirelessly to promote and grow the YEN membership over the last year. His enthusiasm has been a great asset in getting the general membership more involved in YEN. He has been a positive influence in the performance aftermarket arena. Dolan is the type of person that any company would want to be represented by because of his “can-do” attitude that looks at problems as opportunities.

The SPC/YEN Industry Icon award was presented to Mike Spagnola of Street Scene Equipment. As the leader of an automotive aftermarket business, Spagnola understands the cost of doing business and the pressures that manufacturers face in all aspects of the industry. Over the past couple of years, Spagnola has served on the SEMA executive committee and governance committee, chaired the SEMA Show committee and chaired the SEMA Show ’N Shine and Gala Fundraiser efforts. In addition, he has been very active in the SEMA Cares committee and has served as the Board of Directors liaison to the Truck and Off-Road Alliance. He was honored as SEMA’s Person of the Year in 2010.