By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

SEMA members Tom Brooks with his son T.C. (Truckin Thunder) with their ’16 Jeep Wrangler in front of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Members of the Outdoor Recreation Industry Roundtable (ORIR) met with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to discuss expanding public-private partnerships.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Tom Brooks and T.C. Brooks discussed aftermarket modifications made to the ’16 Jeep Wrangler.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke intends to create a Recreation Advisory Committee to help expand public-private partnerships on America’s public lands. The announcement was made in conjunction with a July 18 meeting at the Department of the Interior with Outdoor Recreation Industry Roundtable (ORIR) representatives, federal lawmakers and high-ranking officials.  

The ORIR is comprised of 17 industry associations, including SEMA, representing off-roading, camping, fishing, boating, hiking, archery and other sports. Combined, the outdoor recreation industry generates $887 billion per year in economic activity and provides an estimated 7.6 million direct jobs. The ORIR’s primary mission is to spotlight the economic value of outdoor recreation and pursue federal policy reforms for rebuilding and expanding the nation’s recreation-related infrastructure.

SEMA members Tom Brooks and his son T.C. with Truckin Thunder participated in an outdoor display of “made in America” recreation products. Secretary Zinke stopped by to inquire about their ’16 Jeep Wrangler, which has been outfitted with a multitude of performance and styling aftermarket parts. Truckin Thunder is a family-owned business that specializes in the sale, installation and service of towing and hauling accessories for both personal-use trucks and commercial fleets.

At the meeting and outdoor display, roundtable participants gave specific examples of how public-private partnerships can enhance the outdoor recreation experience and positively impact the economy. This includes reducing a multi-billion-dollar maintenance backlog, modernizing campsites and extending service hours and seasons. Public-private partnerships are already utilized by the National Park Service and other agencies, such as managing campgrounds, marinas and restaurants. 

For details, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

Get the latest video, news clips and information on the motorsports bill here.

Get the latest video, news clips and information on the motorsports bill here.

Measuring sessions featuring the ’18 Ford F-150, ’18 Mustang and ’18 Expedition will be held at the SEMA Garage in Diamond Bar, California, July 24–25, 2017. At the measuring sessions, attendees will be allowed to examine pre-production ’18-MY vehicles. These vehicles are as “production representative” as possible and may aid your development process for future upfits.

Measuring sessions featuring the ’18 Ford F-150, ’18 Mustang and ’18 Expedition will be held at the SEMA Garage in Diamond Bar, California, July 24–25, 2017. At the measuring sessions, attendees will be allowed to examine pre-production ’18-MY vehicles. These vehicles are as “production representative” as possible and may aid your development process for future upfits.

Measuring sessions featuring the ’18 Ford F-150, ’18 Mustang and ’18 Expedition will be held at the SEMA Garage in Diamond Bar, California, July 24–25, 2017. At the measuring sessions, attendees will be allowed to examine pre-production ’18-MY vehicles. These vehicles are as “production representative” as possible and may aid your development process for future upfits.

Measuring sessions featuring the ’18 Ford F-150, ’18 Mustang and ’18 Expedition will be held at the SEMA Garage in Diamond Bar, California, July 24–25, 2017. At the measuring sessions, attendees will be allowed to examine pre-production ’18-MY vehicles. These vehicles are as “production representative” as possible and may aid your development process for future upfits.

Join friends and colleagues for the SEMA Installation and Gala, Friday, July 28, from 6:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m., at the Sheraton Fairplex Conference Center in Pomona, California. This special evening honors the specialty-equipment industry’s pioneers and dedicated volunteers, 2017 SEMA Hall of Fame inductees—GiGi Carleton, Doug Evans and Barry Meguiar—and the association’s incoming and outgoing SEMA Board members.

Join friends and colleagues for the SEMA Installation and Gala, Friday, July 28, from 6:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m., at the Sheraton Fairplex Conference Center in Pomona, California. This special evening honors the specialty-equipment industry’s pioneers and dedicated volunteers, 2017 SEMA Hall of Fame inductees—GiGi Carleton, Doug Evans and Barry Meguiar—and the association’s incoming and outgoing SEMA Board members.

By SEMA Editors

Latest Jobs Added to SEMA Career Center

Are you hunting for a new job? The SEMA Career Center has a comprehensive listing of automotive-related job openings around the country. Here are some of the latest classifieds posted to the website.

Head of Motorsports: thyssenkrupp Bilstein is hiring a head of motorsports responsible for creating and implementing a strategy to deliver sales and brand exposure within fragmented motorsports segments of oval track, sprint, drag modifieds, sports car, stock car, late model and legends, etc. Continued market share growth along with profitable sales are high priorities. The head of motorsports should be able to motivate, develop and guide the motorsports staff to achieve the expected growth. A minimum of 10 years’ related motorsports experience with well-documented sales and budget achievements is required.

Website Editor: Digital Throttle is hiring a part-time freelance website editor to help build traffic to new websites and related Facebook pages. The freelance editor will focus on truck and off-roading markets. Maximum weekly work hours will not exceed 15 hours. The ideal editor will have proven experience as a freelance writer in the truck/off-road markets and solid skills posting and editing website stories.

Product Marketing Specialist/Web Content Developer: ModBargains.com Inc. is hiring an entry-level product marketing specialist/web content developer responsible for writing automotive aftermarket product listings, taking/editing product photos and updating current listings, building web pages and adding content to the site while optimizing pages for search engines and participating in social-media campaigns. The successful candidate will be knowledgeable with automotive modifications and accessories and be able to type at least 60 words per minute.

Business Development Manager: Global Finishing Solutions is hiring a business development manager to develop and guide the implementation of the account-specific business plan, achieve account profitability and sales targets and provide account leadership. In addition, the business development manager is responsible for producing proactive plans to increase brand awareness and create strong lines of communication from the field to senior management. A proven technical sales track record along with basic mechanical aptitude is required. Experience managing national customers and distribution networks and prior sales experience within the auto refinish industry are preferred.

Customer Service Representative: Coker Tire is hiring a customer service representative to provide timely and accurate information to incoming customer order status and product knowledge requests, and to process customer orders/changes/returns according to department policies and procedures. A high-school diploma is required, along with at least three years of prior customer service experience. Some travel is required.