Thank You and Farewell

SEPTEMBER 2023 MARKS THE END OF MY TERM as your MWACA President. Serving you through the past two terms (four years) has been an honor. They say time flies when you are having fun, which is true in this case.

Looking back, when I started my term in September 2019, every- thing was very mundane with in-person meetings and events. Little did we know what was to take place only days after the close of the 2020 VISION Hi-Tech Training event. Nobody could have foreseen how COVID-19 would have such an impact on business and social activities to follow. During the remainder of 2020, we may not have held in-per- son events, but we did help shops get the word out to clients that they were still open, taking precautions, and ready for business.

In 2021, the VISION event was held 100% online. I admit I had concerns about how we could pull that off, but thanks to Sheri Hamilton and her team, it was a great success, and I believe it set the bar for other online industry events that year. We also brought back in-person meetings with the added option of attending virtually with our newly developed online platforms. In late 2021, we experienced tremendous growth and development of the Auto Care Alliance, bringing on other affiliations across the country such as MAACA, NWACA, TXACA, and FLACA throughout the year and into 2022. We continued with more member benefits and member growth, outpacing other organizations.

With a focus on technician growth in the industry in 2023, we launched the first General Service Technicians Academy during the VISION event in March. We were pleased to have a sold-out class and that we were able to provide unprecedented training for newer auto- motive technicians in a conference setting. Plans to continue and make it bigger and better for 2024 are already in the works.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such a dedi- cated and talented team of board members, staff, and volunteers. Your hard work and dedication have made all our accomplishments possible.

I am confident that MWACA will continue to thrive in the years to come because I am leaving it in good hands with our new board. I know that they will continue to build on our progress and lead the organization to even greater success.

Thank you again for the opportunity to serve as your president. I wish you all the best in the years to come.

TIM DAVISON
President