At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part. A lawyer by trade, he couldn’t be classified as a "car guy" per se. Yet his profound impact on the automotive aftermarket and SEMA’s earliest years cannot be disputed. After all, he was SEMA’s very first executive director—and how that came to be involved an incredible twist of fate.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, local, state and federal governments were increasingly regulating emissions and vehicle performance parts to address air quality and safety concerns. The aftermarket felt threatened, and yet the industry surprisingly tapped one of the most ardent regulators to lead SEMA. That was Grant. He turned out to be the right man for the job at exactly the right time, ushering in a period of tremendous association growth.

"I got involved with government regulations at cabinet level for California’s then-governor Ronald Reagan," recalled Grant. "I was with what is now known as the California Air Resources Board, but at that time it was the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board. I got involved in 1960. I had four years with the local air pollution control district in Los Angeles, which is now known as the South Coast Air Basin. I was selected by the county board of supervisors to represent Southern California at the state level."

He also served under President Johnson at the federal level to help establish the precursor to what has now become the Environmental Protection Agency.

Grant, who had degrees in law and engineering, was a staunch advocate of air-quality standards. But he also believed in the specialty-equipment industry’s ability to meet those standards.

"Representatives of SEMA came to me sometime between 1963 and 1965," he said. "They were most concerned that the laws that were being put together were going to restrict the ability of the aftermarket to produce parts for motor vehicles. I sat down with Willie Garner, Dean Moon and a whole bunch of other people and said, ‘Look, I’ve already put in the law, but if you can build a better product, you’re going to be legal."

Somehow, there was a meeting of the minds, with the industry representatives realizing they needed someone like Grant at SEMA’s helm and Grant realizing the good that SEMA could do for automotive issues. By 1968, he found himself leaving his government responsibilities to direct SEMA, which had only about 25 to 30 members at the time.

As executive director, he was instrumental in changing the name of what was then known as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association to the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association. A bylaws change also opened SEMA to the entire range of aftermarket businesses, from manufacturers to distributors and from retailers and service providers. (That inclusiveness would eventually lead to the organization’s Specialty Equipment Market Association moniker, which is still in use today.)

"When we did that, it just opened the floodgates," he stated proudly, noting that SEMA had grown to more than 500 member companies by the time he left. But the early years were not easy.

"We were faced with legal challenges by the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation and a bunch of wackos in Pennsylvania," he quipped. "The challenges we faced were keeping the aftermarket legal. Because I had the experience writing the laws, I was able to exercise knowledge."

Detroit also proved less than friendly to the young trade association. "They didn’t want anyone messing around with their vehicles," he remembered.

Under Grant, however, SEMA met those obstacles head on, setting best practices and product standards for its membership that met and often surpassed the automakers’ specifications. Meanwhile, the association also forged a strong alliance with the National Hot Rod Association, acting as a de facto "safety arm" for its industry friend.

After his stint as executive director ended in 1973, Grant continued several years with SEMA as its legal council and governmental affairs officer. 
 
Grant passed away on December 22, 2013. 
 
 
 
 

No one can deny Boyd his rank in hot rodding and customizing. Boyd’s remarkable success with the production and sale of high-end billet-aluminum custom wheels is unprecedented, and his specialty-vehicle designs have received worldwide acclaim for craftsmanship and originality. He opened Hot Rods by Boyd in the late 1970s, while the late 1980s brought Boyd Wheels. His custom rims gained fans in the hot rod world as well as the hip-hop community. Meanwhile, his custom vehicles garnered Boyd the Grand National Roadster Show's America's Most Beautiful Roadster Award, the Daimler-Chrysler Design Excellence Award, the National Rod & Custom Museum Hall of Fame, the Route 66 Hall of Fame, the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame and the Hot Rod Hall of Fame.

Butch is recognized as being one of the specialty aftermarket leaders, an individual whose business acumen has led to a preponderance of successes in the wholesale and retail distribution of performance parts and customizing accessories. Butch has been an ad director, account manager and marketing director. He has served on the SEMA Board of Directors and as the SEMA Treasurer as well as on various committees. Additionally, he served on the Board of Directors for AFFTA and SREA. He was both Director and Treasurer of PWA. PWA awarded Butch with its Pioneer Award in 1996, and he received the SEMA Person of the Year Award in 1984.

Joan Weiand overcame the obstacles that lay before her when she took over Weiand Industries in the wake of her husband’s death.  Joan supported industry causes with zeal; she established and maintained a SEMA Scholarship Fund in her husband Phil’s memory.

The founder and CEO of Superior Industries, former used-car salesman Lou radiated the spirit of entrepreneurship. He started his company, Superior Industries International, with the design and production of alloy custom wheels. Today, Superior wheels are found on tens of thousands of production-line new cars. He had been on the company's board of directors since 1958, serving as chairman until 2007. Lou was also a major supporter of the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund and one of the Scholarship's subfund sponsors; the L.L. Borick subfund is awarded each year to students seeking careers in the specialty-equipment industry.

Hilborn is a popular name in the Indianapolis 500 race, because Hilborn fuel injection units have been on Indy race cars for more than three decades. It was Stu Hilborn, an automotive engineer and lakes racer, who designed and developed the hybrid injection system, a variation of which is now used on new cars in an electronic configuration. His injectors have been used successfully and set many records in all types of racing including oval track, drag, dry lakes, super modified, off-road, motorcycle, tractor pulling, hydroplanes and Indy Lite series.

Bob retired from Chrysler Motors Corporation in the late 1980s, but he did so with credit for keeping the Chrysler nameplates prominent in all forms of racing. Bob is known as the originator of Mopar, a unit of operation that began as a performance parts division for Chrysler. It’s reported that he ran Chrysler’s Pure Oil Performance Trials team and the Mobilgas Economy Run efforts, and led the racing group that developed the Hyper Pak-powered Valiants for NASCAR’s short-lived compact car racing series. Mopar Magazine wrote that he “dreamed up” the Max Wedge and HEMI package cars Chrysler built from 1962 to 1968.

Pete was the co-founder of Pete & Jake's, a large and very successful street rod products manufacturer, also responsible for the design and construction of popular hot rods, among them the award-winning "California Kid" coupe. He has built, or had a hand in building, a number of notable rods, including the Eliminator coupe and two “HogZZilla” custom motorcycles for ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. He was also involved in the restoration of several historic hot rods for Bruce Meyer, including the Doane Spencer roadster, Pierson Brothers coupe and Alex Xydias’s original So-Cal Speed Shop belly tank lakester. Pete is also the owner of So-Cal Speed Shop. In addition, he was Vice President of Marketing at SEMA, and was instrumental in the formation of the Street Rod Equipment Association, a SEMA council. He was inducted in to the SRMA Hall of Fame, the Route 66 Hall of Fame, National Rod & Custom Hall of Fame, Hot Rod Hall of Fame and the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame. He has been awarded the Grand National Roadster Show Builder of the Year, Detroit Autorama Builder of the Year, Legends of Speed Lifetime Achievement Award and NSRA (UK) Hot Rod of the Century Award.

Borré got his start more than 40 years ago as a teenage counterman at a neighborhood auto parts store. To this day he admits to a passion for cars of any kind. It’s an infatuation he traces to his boyhood years, and that, he says, is what has always influenced his career choices. From the parts counter to management roles, Borré advanced to president of Sperex VHT Corp., a position he held for 17 years. Today, Borré is the CEO of Manik Motors, a major national supplier of truck accessories.

Borré’s affiliation with SEMA spans many, many years. He has held a seat on the SEMA Board of Directors, been on the executive committee, been active in the Professional Restylers Organization (PRO) and he has been a major contributor to the progress and growth of the SEMA Scholarship Fund.

Amy Faulk, SEMA’s Person of the Year in 1996, has been interested in automotive technology since she was a preteen helping in her father’s body and radiator repair shop. During her automotive career, she has held management roles at Racing Head Service/Competition Cams and TCI/Fel-Pro/Federal-Mogul. She is currently the chief administrative officer at Hypertech.

Faulk has devoted much of her time and talents to serving on the SEMA Board of Directors, as well as the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network (SBN) and the SEMA Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council (MPMC). She also is credited with the development of the annual Silent Auction at the SEMA Show, which raises money for the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Faulk is also a distinguished drag racer, earning the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) title “The Winningest Woman in Racing.” Plus, she has won the NHRA Super Stock Driver of the Year award and national title victories in three different competition categories.