CTDA Luncheon Honors Hall of Fame Inductees

The California Tire Dealers Association met for the ninth annual CTDA/1-800EveryRim New Year Luncheon Jan. 20 where the group inducted members into the California Tire Dealers Association Hall of Fame.

This year’s inductees include:

The late Eddie Cohn, a CTDA-S (South) director who had previously operated Cohn Tire Sales in Los Angeles;
Jay Goldberg, a board member of the CTDA since the 1960s, who operated Anderson Tire, Semperit Pacific and later became a principal at Globe Tire. Goldberg was also heavily involved with the National Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association (NTDRA);
The late Tom Hanlon, a past CTDA-N (North) president, who also ran Hanlon’s Tire Service in San Bruno, CA;
The late Ed King, who helped establish CTDA-N’s insurance services, was a past executive director of CTDA and a CTDA-N board member;
Don Zavattero, former secretary, treasurer and board member of the CTDA-N and CTDA, who founded Tech Supply in Hayward California.

“I know or had known each of the inductees for quite a long time, and with Jay and Eddie, they were mentors to me,” said luncheon host and CTDA President Billy Eordekian of 1-800EveryRim OEM Wheels.

The Hall of Fame inductees were announced by CTDA Executive Director Marc Connerly, and CTDA board member Chris Barry of the Independent Tire Dealer Group (ITDG) served as the luncheon’s emcee.

Speakers touched on topics important to the industry:

Retired Tire Industry Association (TIA) CEO Roy Littlefield, now a part time lobbyist for the association, reviewed legislative issues including the infrastructure bill and funding;
TIA President Mason Hess, of Purcell Tire, stressed the continuing impact of the labor shortage and talked about TIA’s role in employee training and the importance of manager engagement with new hires;
Steve Swanson, SEMA Wheel & Tire Council (WTC) select committee member and former SEMA board member, of the Carlster Group discussed the benefits of WTC membership;

The luncheon was hosted by 1-800EveryRim OEM Wheels and featured Federated Insurance as the annual CTDA Diamond Sponsor. Gold Sponsors were Yokohama Tire, Advance Auto Parts, Turbo Wholesale Tire, Snap Finance, Optimize Social Media and Mighty Auto Parts. Silver Sponsors were Myers Tire Supply, Penn Tires and Tire’s Warehouse.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has named Ryan Waldron as president of the company's Americas business unit, reporting to Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Stewart. He succeeds Steven R. McClellan, who retired on April 1.

"At Goodyear, our customers are at the center of everything we do, and in Ryan Waldron, we have a customer-centric, execution-focused business leader with a deep understanding of both the marketplace and all aspects of our business, as well as a proven track record of delivering results," Stewart said. "I am thrilled to announce him as president of Goodyear's Americas business and have enormous confidence that under his leadership, both the company and our customers will reach even greater levels of success."