Among the several distinguished honors bestowed at the annual SEMA Show Industry Awards Banquet, the Person of the Year award stands as perhaps the most prestigious. More than their own personal or career achievements, individuals who have received the award were selected in recognition of their tremendous service and contributions to the industry in advancing the success of the entire marketplace. At the recent 2018 SEMA Show ceremonies held in Las Vegas on Thursday night, November 1, the association named Melanie White of Hellwig Products as its 2018 Person of the Year.
You could say that John Johnson’s service to SEMA and the automotive specialty-equipment industry has been “by the numbers.” Hailing from The Spartan Group (TSG) and the industry’s financial side, he has been a significant force in shaping SEMA’s strategy and fiscal discipline. In fact, Johnson led a transformation in the association’s financial reporting to its Board of Directors, helping SEMA staff improve visibility across business units and programs.
SEMA’s Person of the Year Award is presented to an individual who embodies the association’s mission: To help members succeed and prosper.
The core mission of SEMA is to help its members succeed and prosper, and a spirit of volunteerism permeates that mission. To grow the automotive specialty-equipment industry and address the broad range of issues facing association members, SEMA continues to rely on the vision and leadership of dedicated individuals from every industry segment who give freely of their time and energy for the benefit of all. In that spirit each year, SEMA bestows its highest honor—the Person of the Year Award—on an individual who embodies the association’s mission. For 2016, that person is Tim Martin of K&N Engineering.
For its 50th anniversary, themed “We Built This,” the 2016 SEMA Industry Awards Banquet celebrated the specialty-equipment market’s contributors and innovators.
SEMA relies on individuals from every industry segment to step forward and bring their own vision and initiative.
It takes dedication, hard work and drive to build and grow an automotive specialty-equipment business. Even more so to grow an entire industry. Yet to help its members succeed and prosper, SEMA relies on individuals from every industry segment to step forward and bring their own vision and initiative. Consequently, it seems only fitting once a year to celebrate an individual whose contributions best embody this SEMA mission. For 2015, that individual is Kathryn Reinhardt of MagnaFlow, who found herself named SEMA Person of the Year at the recent 2015 SEMA Show Industry Banquet in Las Vegas.
Nominations for all of SEMA’s 2015 Industry Awards—Person of the Year, Gen-III Innovator of the Year, Rep Agency of the Year, WD of the Year—are due next week, Friday, July 10.