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| James Lawrence of PowerTV, second from left, accepts the Robert E. Petersen Award from SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting, MPMC Chairman Kyle Fickler of Weld Racing and MPMC Chair-Elect Vic Wood of Hedman Hedders. |
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| Steve Matusek is this year’s recipient of the MPMC Chairman’s Award. |
The 15th annual MPMC Media Trade Conference was held January 24–26, 2012, at the Embassy Suites LAX South in El Segundo, California. By all accounts, it was a milestone in the event’s long history.
“What a great way to celebrate the 15th anniversary of this event,” remarked MPMC Chairman Kyle Fickler of Weld Racing. “SEMA staff significantly raised the bar in terms of operation and execution. We saw a number of new media outlets this year, utilized a texting and e-mailing system for meeting notifications and had excellent communication and cooperation with the hotel staff. With a record number of exhibitor registrations for 2012, we are expecting even bigger things for 2013.”
Added MPMC Chair-Elect Vic Wood of Hedman Hedders, “So many things seemed to gel this year. I cannot remember a Media Trade Conference running so smoothly from top to bottom. A big vote of thanks to the SEMA staff for a great job! We greatly appreciate their efforts for our council, its membership and supporting media."
The MPMC Media Trade Conference hosted 100 MPMC-member manufacturers for three days of 30-minute, face-to-face meetings with more than 200 journalists from national and international automotive media outlets. Available only to MPMC-member manufacturers, the Media Trade Conference is highly regarded by both media and manufacturers as a “must-attend” event.
In addition to three days of meetings, MPMC also hosted a media reception on Tuesday evening of the Media Trade Conference. Along with food, drinks and networking, MPMC presented two awards during the reception.
The Robert E. Petersen Award was presented to James Lawrence of PowerTV. The award was voted on by the MPMC general membership and given to a media person who went above and beyond the interests of MPMC and the motorsports parts industry over the preceding year.
The MPMC Chairman’s Award was presented to Steve Matusek of Aeromotive. This award is not necessarily given out every year, but only if and when the MPMC chairperson sees fit.