On July 26, I begin a two-year term as SEMA Chairman. I am focused on improving SEMA and helping our association provide solutions to help our members solve problems. There are many SEMA programs that benefit our member businesses, and most of them are explained regularly in our magazines and newsletters.

Among the several distinguished honors bestowed at the annual SEMA Show Industry Awards Banquet, the Person of the Year award stands as perhaps the most prestigious. More than their own personal or career achievements, individuals who have received the award were selected in recognition of their tremendous service and contributions to the industry in advancing the success of the entire marketplace. At the recent 2018 SEMA Show ceremonies held in Las Vegas on Thursday night, November 1, the association named Melanie White of Hellwig Products as its 2018 Person of the Year.

You could say that John Johnson’s service to SEMA and the automotive specialty-equipment industry has been “by the numbers.” Hailing from The Spartan Group (TSG) and the industry’s financial side, he has been a significant force in shaping SEMA’s strategy and fiscal discipline. In fact, Johnson led a transformation in the association’s financial reporting to its Board of Directors, helping SEMA staff improve visibility across business units and programs.

The SEMA Hall of Fame was established in 1969 to honor the contributions of leaders in the automotive aftermarket industry whose creativity, diligence, generosity and industriousness have significantly contributed to the industry’s growth. The award is the automotive aftermarket’s highest honor, and the Hall celebrates the legacies of a pantheon of automotive legends from the racing, manufacturing and media sectors.

The core mission of SEMA is to help its members succeed and prosper, and a spirit of volunteerism permeates that mission. To grow the automotive specialty-equipment industry and address the broad range of issues facing association members, SEMA continues to rely on the vision and leadership of dedicated individuals from every industry segment who give freely of their time and energy for the benefit of all. In that spirit each year, SEMA bestows its highest honor—the Person of the Year Award—on an individual who embodies the association’s mission. For 2016, that person is Tim Martin of K&N Engineering.

In what has become a highly anticipated September tradition, SEMA News is once again pleased to present the annual “35 Under 35” listing of rising industry talent. This marks the fifth anniversary of this special feature, and we think readers will agree that the young trendsetters profiled in the following pages once again prove that the future of the automotive specialty-equipment industry is in extremely capable hands.

It takes dedication, hard work and drive to build and grow an automotive specialty-equipment business. Even more so to grow an entire industry. Yet to help its members succeed and prosper, SEMA relies on individuals from every industry segment to step forward and bring their own vision and initiative. Consequently, it seems only fitting once a year to celebrate an individual whose contributions best embody this SEMA mission. For 2015, that individual is Kathryn Reinhardt of MagnaFlow, who found herself named SEMA Person of the Year at the recent 2015 SEMA Show Industry Banquet in Las Vegas.

BBA Board of Directors, elected by the trade association’s membership at large, governs SEMA. Board members serve three-year terms, with the chairman-elect automatically assuming the role of chairman after completing his or her two-year term. The 2015–2016 Board pictured here was recently empaneled at the annual SEMA Installation Gala, held July 24, 2015, at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.

Each year, the SEMA Installation Gala gathers the industry together to thank outgoing SEMA Board of Directors members, install newly elected leaders and celebrate the association’s latest Hall of Fame inductees. In addition, daytime events leading up to the banquet include high-level Board and council discussions along with a heavy dose of fundraising for SEMA Cares, the association’s charity initiative. This year, the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles played host to the July 24 events, with the evening’s gala emceed by the legendary “Voice of the NHRA,” Dave McClelland.

Remember your first SEMA Show? I remember walking into my first SEMA Show more than 30 years ago. I entered the main hall and was amazed that we had actually filled almost half of the hall! I felt like saying, “Somebody pinch me. I am actually getting paid to be here working this Show!”