By SEMA News Editors
Top honors were awarded at the annual SEMA Industry Awards Banquet by SEMA, the trade association representing the $51.8 billion automotive specialty-equipment industry.
Winners of the prestigious awards are:
- SEMA Person of the Year: Ian Lehn, BOOSTane
- Gen-III Innovator of the Year: Jon Delgado, Repairify
- Content Creator of the Year: Vin Anatra, Hoonigan
Industry business owners, luminaries and media celebrated the thriving industry during the Banquet. The ultimate networking and social event was attended by industry leaders, rising stars and volunteers.
Ian Lehn (left) of BOOSTane Octane Engineering was named the 2023 SEMA Person of the Year.
The 2023 SEMA Person of the Year award went to Ian Lehn, founder of BOOSTane in Cincinnati, Ohio, in recognition for his volunteerism in the industry. Lehn has served in leadership positions for two different SEMA councils, works with the SEMA PAC and supports various charities. His company received the prestigious LaunchPad product of the year award in 2014.
Mike Burns (right), the 2022 Gen-III Innovator of the Year, presented the 2023 SEMA Gen-III Innovator of the Year award to Jon Delgado, Repairify.
The 2022 Gen-III Innovator of the Year award was presented to Jon Delgado, chief technology officer of Repairify. Delgado led the engineering of the patented asTech Rules Engine, which uses empirical data to present users with the most accurate and cost-effective diagnostic scan option specific to a given vehicle. Delgado is also a key contributor and leader in ADAS calibration identifications with his adasThink solution. With the services he has delivered, shops can be confident that they are properly calibrating safety systems as required by OEM repair procedures.
The inaugural SEMA Content Creator of the Year Larry Chen (right) presented Vin Anatra, Hoonigan, with the 2023 SEMA Content Creator of the Year Award.
Vin Anatra is Hoonigan's vice president of business development and has more than 200,000 followers on his personal Instagram page. Beginning as an inexperienced kid from New York with a passion for cars, Anatra helped Hoonigan build one of the most notable and influential brands in the automotive apparel and media space..
In addition, Roy Brizio of Roy Brizio Street Rods was named the recipient of the Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award.
(Left to right) Bruce Meyer, car collector and former motorcycle racer; Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award winner Roy Brizio, Roy Brizio Street Rods; and Terry L Karges Sr., Petersen Museum executive director.
The event also paid homage to the most recent SEMA Hall of Fame Inductees, Steve Ames, Ames Performance Engineering; John Iannotte, Kunzman & Associates; and Mitch Williams, Rigid Industries. In addition, the evening included a moving tribute to the late Ken Block, with a talented speed artist creating a portrait of one of the industry's most influential legends created before the audience's eyes.
"SEMA congratulates the recipients of this year's SEMA Industry Awards, which was once again the perfect place to unite the industry representing past, present and future leadership in a one-of-a-kind setting," said Tom Gattuso, SEMA vice president of events.