SEMA News—December 2012

LEADERSHIP
By Mike Imlay

Meet the 2012–2013 SEMA Board of Directors

As a trade association, SEMA is governed by an elected Board of Directors that is composed of industry leaders who volunteer considerable time, talent and insight to guide the organization.

Elected by the association’s membership at large, SEMA’s Board of Directors reflects the wide spectrum of businesses to be found within the specialty-equipment marketplace, from manufacturing to distribution, and from sales to service suppliers.

“As members of SEMA’s Board of Directors, these volunteers serve the entire industry, playing a crucial role in setting priorities for the specialty-equipment market,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting. “We appreciate their hard work and dedication, along with their commitment and foresight in ensuring the future growth of our industry.”

In fact, the election process begins with employees of SEMA-member companies recommending people in the industry who, in their opinion, would be good candidates to run for the SEMA board. Members are free to nominate colleagues as well as themselves. A nominating task force then reviews all recommendations. This group consists of seven individuals, who, by agreeing to sit on the task force, are ineligible to run for the board during that election year. The group reviews each nomination based on industry experience, knowledge of business affairs, integrity and other similar characteristics.

The nominating task force then submits its recommendations for potential candidates to the current board of directors. This process of checks and balances ensures that the final list of candidates includes only highly qualified nominees. Names and background information on the final candidates are included in election booklets, which are sent along with ballots to all SEMA members in the appropriate voting categories. According to SEMA bylaws, there are three basic voting categories: Manufacturers, Distributor/Retailer and Services, and Manufacturers’ Reps. Companies vote for board members within their respective member category.

Ballots returned before the stated deadline are collected and tabulated by an accounting firm and two board members, who supervise the procedure. The final results are announced soon after all candidates have been contacted, with new directors and officers beginning their service in July.

All board positions serve two-year terms. (The chairman-elect serves in that position for two years, then serves as chairman for the succeeding two years.) Directors may be re-elected to serve up to three consecutive two-year terms in office, and they may be re-elected to office after three consecutive terms following a minimum break in continuous service of two years.

Scooter Brothers Chairman COMP Performance Group	Nate Shelton Chairman-Elect B&M Automotive Group	Greg Adler Transamerican Auto Parts	Joel Ayres Bedslide/Takit LLC
Jeff Bates Bob Cook Sales	Jim Bingham Winners Circle Speed & Custom Inc.	Luanne Brown eTool Developers LLC	Jim Chick Bestop Inc.
Donnie Eatherly P&E Distributors Inc.	Nick Gramelspacher Meyer Distributing	John Hotchkis Hotchkis Performance LLC	Myles Kovacs DUB Publishing Inc.
Tim Martin K&N Engineering Inc.	JR Moore Warehouse Operations, Performance Warehouse	Mike Spagnola Street Scene Equipment	Russell Stevens MSD Performance
Steve Wolcott ProMedia LLC	Van Woodell Weathers Auto Supply	Jeep Worthan Auto Meter