 Rich Barsamian of Advanced Clutch Technology was named 2014 SEMA Person of the Year. | |
 Blake Fuller of Braille Battery won SEMA’s 2014 GEN-III Innovator Award. | |
 KAM Marketing was recognized as SEMA’s 2014 Manufacturers’ Rep Agency of the Year. | |
 Motor State Distributing won the award for SEMA’s 2014 WD of the Year. |
By Lindsay Bianco
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.
All SEMA members are invited to nominate the companies and individuals that conduct business in a way that furthers the interests of the entire industry. The award winners will be celebrated for their accomplishments at the 2015 SEMA Industry Awards Banquet, Thursday, November 5, during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
To make a nomination, visit the SEMA Awards webpage. Once there, review the full criteria for each of the awards and complete the online nomination forms. Nominations for all awards are due by 5:00 p.m. (PDT) on Friday, July 10. Questions? Contact Lindsay Bianco at 909-978-6692 or lindsayb@sema.org.
Read on for more information about the awards that will be presented at the 2015 SEMA Show.
Person of the Year: The SEMA Person of the Year Award was established in 1969 to honor individuals for their outstanding contributions to the association and the automotive aftermarket as a whole. During the selection process, the task force takes into consideration the nominees’ service beyond their normal job function over the past year. Full criteria is available on the SEMA Awards webpage, along with a listing of past honorees. In order to assist the Person of the Year Task Force in making its selection, a brief statement, including the nominee’s accomplishments, is required at the time of submission.
Gen-III Innovator of the Year: SEMA is also seeking nominations to recognize young innovators who exhibit the same pioneering spirit as the original industry founders, and whose work is changing the way the automotive aftermarket does business. He or she may have been the first to act on a new trend, invented an original product or devised and implemented ideas that better suit the current marketplace. Qualifying nominees must be younger than 40 as of December 31, 2015. For more details about the criteria and to nominate, visit www.sema.org/innovator.
Rep Agency of the Year: The SEMA Rep Agency of the Year Award honors a manufacturers’ rep agency for its contribution to the industry for the past 12 months (corresponding with the SEMA fiscal year, July 1–June 30). Considerations include product-line knowledge, communication of critical information between supplier and the client network, updated catalogs, databases and price sheets and continuous training and education programs.
WD of the Year: The SEMA WD of the Year Award recognizes a warehouse distributor that operates with the integrity and business practices that set the company apart as an industry leader. Over the last year, the ideal candidate will have been involved in industry events, serviced and communicated with suppliers and resellers with excellence and provided development opportunities for clients and staff.
More information on the 2015 SEMA Show is available at www.SEMAShow.com.