The Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium, an annual event since its founding in 1996, may be at the end of its life.
In her column posted in the July 23 issue of its Auto Care E-News e-newsletter, Auto Care Association president Kathleen Schmatz noted that the GAAS board of directors decided to “defer its event,” which is traditionally hosted in May in Chicago, for 2015.
“By no means was this an easy decision, but it was a good decision,” she wrote. “Taking a year off to assess the needs of industry executives, evaluating the event’s purpose, format, location and duration is sound business practice. Whatever the outcome, the future of GAAS will be based on the facts.”
There has been no specific public statement made by the GAAS board, and no specific plans for its future have been revealed.
GAAS has served as both an educational program for those from every aspect of the automotive aftermarket, but also as a primary fundraiser to support hundreds of educational scholarships the group awards to future automotive aftermarket professionals.
