Hundreds of tire dealers gathered outside of Chicago Jan. 11-12 for the K&M Tire Dealer Conference at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, Illinois. The event, themed “Driving Excellence,” offered two days of opportunity for tire dealers and their teams to learn first-hand from subject-matter experts on the show floor and in educational sessions.
The event theme wrapped around the content presented in a number of educational seminars. Unlike similar industry events of this nature, there was little talk of corporate plans and vision from the team at K&M Tire. In fact, CEO Ken Langhals and President Sheryl Gossard rarely took the spotlight. Instead, the content was 100% designed around the needs of the business owners they support. Seminar sessions focused entirely on business growth and success, with Greg Ring, director of training and development for K&M Tire, as emcee and master of ceremonies.
The event kicked off with a presentation of the Mr. Tire Big 3 Tire Top Shop Award, powered by Hankook Tire America and supported by O’Reilly’s Auto Parts. The award recognizes excellence within the K&M Tire family of tire dealers across the United States. This year’s winner was Manley Tire of Valley Springs, South Dakota. In addition to prize money and recognition, the shop will move into the semi-finals of the national Tire Review Top Shop competition for consideration.
Dick Hiebert, owner of Big Jim’s Eastside Tire with two locations in South Dakota, was recognized with the Mr. Tire Big 3 Tire Commercial Tire Dealer of the year award, presented by Modern Tire Dealer Publisher Greg Smith.
The event concluded with a special dinner event with a performance by the Beatles cover band, American English. With sights set to 2019, the next K&M Tire dealer conference will take place in Dallas on January 24-25.
