By Todd Steen – WTC Chair- Elect

It is often said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it,” and after last week’s Long-Range Planning meeting, SEMA’s WTC is excited to do just that. The Select Committee hosted seven members in Greenville and 6 members via Zoom last week and made a “short list” of nearly 30 issues facing our industry today. We used our own experience, feedback from WTC members, and research conducted by SEMA to build the topics and prioritized them in relation to our mission statement:

The SEMA Wheel & Tire Council (WTC) exists to help member companies that manufacture or distribute tire and wheel assemblies or their related components to grow and thrive by working together to identify industry challenges, deliver educational solutions and provide unique networking opportunities.

From there, we identified buckets that would allow our subcommittee members to take ownership and tackle the list. The owners of those priorities then became chairs to the committees and will be taking steps to help us unite, grow and solve issues they’re facing today. Listed below are our newly formed committees:

  • Education Committee
    • Developing education (in-person, virtual and online) to meet our members needs
  • Networking Committee
    • Create opportunities for members to connect in person and online throughout the year (meetups, receptions, etc.)
  • Membership Committee
    • Connect with current and prospective members
  • Communications Committee
    • Ensures WTC projects and events are announced via social media; creates articles for both WTC and SEMA News; identifies member spotlights
  • SEMA Show Events Committee
    • Plans events at the SEMA Show for WTC

But here’s the catch: Thirteen volunteers will barely make a dent in the items we want to accomplish and thus, we need your help!

If you’re in the wheel and tire industry and a member of the WTC but you’re not involved, now is the perfect time to step up. There are countless advantages to volunteering and few (if any) downsides! Professional growth, industry knowledge and your personal network top the list. To be blunt, we need your help and welcome the chance to say hello, educate you on our goals and engage you with a group that may just allow your business card to help you win your next client, begin your next adventure or connect your next dot.

If you want to learn more about the WTC and how you can help, contact WTC Director Nicole Bradle at nicoleb@sema.org.