By Ashley Reyes
The SEMA Businesswomen's Network (SBN) has named Lori Spaulding, chief operations officer at Dream Giveaway, as the network's newest #SheIsSEMA spotlight member.
Get to know Spaulding in her interview with SEMA News below.
SN: How many years have you been with your current company and what do you enjoy most about working there?
LS: I've been with Dream Giveaway for 14 years. It's a wonderful, feel-good place to work. We have given away cars to raise money for charities for 17 years now. We are a small but dedicated team.
SEMA News: What does your job entail?
Lori Spaulding: Definitely, hard work. You can't be afraid to put the time in and step up. Dedication goes along with that, along with being comfortable in any setting with any person. I work with a lot of celebrities in our industry.
SN: Being a woman in the industry, what have been your biggest challenges and accomplishments?
LS: Being taken seriously. The owners of the company for the first eight years I was here respected my knowledge to a degree, but never as 'one of the boys' in upper management. It took new ownership to come in and realize that I was a key player in this company. As for being out at car events and races, people look for a guy who can explain the car to them, and that guy is me.
SN: Who are your role models or mentors in the industry?
LS: That's a tough one. I learn every day from everyone around me. I think it's important to watch and take in others' knowledge and decide if it's something I need to think about myself. I've made a lot of amazing friends in this industry who have opened doors for me. I'd never tell them they're role models, though. I'd never hear the end of it. Lol.
SN: Have you always wanted to work in the automotive industry? What keeps you here?
LS: Not really. I have always loved cars but never thought about working around them. What keeps me here? My job and changing people's lives. Even if I wasn't here anymore, now that I'm in it, I can't imagine being out of it. The people I've met have been pretty cool, and some are pretty amazing.
SN: Who was the most influential person on your career/goals?
LS: My son and I. I do it for me and for him. Providing everything I can for him is my motivation for everything. Before him...me.
SN: What is the most challenging part of running your business or job?
LS: Wearing so many hats. I'm responsible for so much of what makes our business run daily. Except IT – that's not my thing. My CEO, thankfully, is that guy. Part of what I do is being the face of the company to the industry, so there's a lot of travel involved as well as time away from my family.
SN: How many years have you been in the industry and what was your first industry job?
LS: This is my first job in the automotive industry, and I love it. I've always loved cars. So, 14 years now. I fell into this looking for an account management job, and they saw my degrees and decided I would manage the design and marketing teams, and then it grew from there.
Fill out a #SheIsSEMA spotlight form to submit a self-nomination or nominate a colleague and highlight how you or she is contributing to the specialty-equipment industry. Selected candidates are automatically eligible to be considered for SBN's #SheIsSEMA Woman of the Year award, featured on SBN's social media, SEMA News and recognized on the sema.org/she-is-sema website.
