Jay Goldberg, a 50-year board member and Hall of Fame inductee of the California Tire Dealers Association (CTDA), passed away on Feb. 8, 2022. He was 86.
A fixture in the Southern California tire industry, Goldberg joined brothers Stan and Arnie Sperling in 1969 to help operate Globe Tire. Goldberg also served tire dealers on a national level working on various committees for the old National Tire Dealers & Retreaders Association (NTDRA), now the Tire Industry Association (TIA).
Other than serving the tire industry in various roles, Goldberg dedicated much of his free time to community service, including community organizing for Valley Organized in Community Efforts and One LA, as well as serving on public safety committees for the Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council. According to his obituary, as he neared retirement, he became active in many charity-based organizations, most notably the Valley Family Center, where he served on its board for 19 years to help provide resources for under-served families and women in the San Fernando Valley.
Billy Eordekian, president of 1-800EveryRim OEM Wheels, says Goldberg was a great mentor to him. Not only did he give Eordekian’s father advice and credit to start a business, but he also helped Eordekian when it came time for him to start a business.
“He sounded scary, but he was the nicest man,” laughed Eordekian. “By that time, I had started selling [tires myself], and I remember vividly Jay telling me, ‘Billy, if you ever have a problem, you can come directly to me.’ In 1987, I started my own business. I started as a member of the [CTDA]. And then soon after Jay said, ‘I think you should be president.’ I said, ‘How can I do that? And I’m not making any money. He says ‘You’ll do it because you’re a good citizen’ – that’s just hilarious to me.”
Eordekian remembers interviewing Goldberg for a CDTA publication, and when Goldberg’s charitable contributions came up, he was amazed. “Wow, that’s a lot [of charities], Jay,” Billy remembers telling him. Goldberg replied, “I woke up years ago, and I decided I was going to save the world.'”
