Madeleine Winer is Editor of Tire Review magazine. She joined the Tire Review staff as a senior editor in 2017. Before joining the tire industry, she worked as a producer and reporter at the Louisville Courier Journal. She is a graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and speaks Spanish fluently.
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For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, K&M Tire dealers gathered in person for the distributor’s annual Dealer Conference from Feb. 17-19 at the Overland Park Convention Center outside Kansas City, Kansas. During the two-day show, hundreds of dealers reacquainted and enjoyed educational sessions, mingling with each other and a packed trade show with games and cash prizes.
Loudan Hammersmith, K&M tire’s national ag tire sales manager, discusses IF and VF tire technology and the importance of load index during an educational session at the K&M Tire Dealer Conference & Trade Show. Gary Schroeder, executive director of Cooper Tire’s truck and bus global tire business, used Blockbuster as an example to explain how quickly change comes in business during his seminar on four trends affecting the commercial tire industry.During K&M Tire’s Trade Show, dealers had the chance to submit their names for a drawing to win prizes from various tire manufacturers. Rich Hofstetter, Farmer’s Co-op service station manager in Plymouth, NE, plays the Plinko Cash Drop presented by Hankook Tire. Hofstetter walked away with $2,700 from playing the game. A Coats Garage representative shows dealers the features of the company’s 1600 Direct Drive Wheel Balancer. Michael Handel of Wholesale Tire in Warren, Ohio, tries to grab all the cash he can in the Continental Cash Grab booth at the K&M Tire Dealer Conference & Trade Show. Handel walked away with $7,200.Monty Bloom of Webster Tire in Webster, South Dakota, plays Plinko at the Hankook booth at the K&M Tire Dealer Conference and trade show – and walked away with $8,500.Justin Bengston of Bengston Service Center in Salina, Kansas, shows off the dough he collected from the Continental Cash Grab booth at the K&M Tire Dealer Conference. Chip Madera, inspirational speaker, business coach and self-proclaimed “Leadership Lion,” gives dealers tools for manifesting change in their organization and accelerating a culture of excellence. EV expert John Barclay discusses how California’s mandate for all vehicles to be electric by 2035 will impact the automotive industry during his Electric Vehicle 101 seminar.Dave Miller, K&M Tire’s director of marketing, details what dealers receive through the Mr. Tire/Big 3 Tire associate dealer program. Jeff Wallick, K&M Tire’s director of training and development, details the five P’s of Pursuing Excellence, which was the conference’s theme this year. K&M President Cheryl Gossard (right) congratulates John Swanson (left) of Alpha Tire in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, for winning a Ford Mustang from Falken Tire, which was raffled off at the show.
Cletus Kramer (center) of Ag Partners Coop in Seneca, Kansas, won a Jeep Grand Cherokee from Cooper Tire during the trade show. Troy Smetzer (left), owner of Smetz’s Tire & Service Center in Ashland, Ohio, celebrates winning the 2022 K&M Tire Mr. Tire/Big 3 Tire Top Shop Award with his stepson, Riley Harpster, who is slated to take over the business one day. Top Shop Winners receive recognition, an award, a $2,000 check and other prizes from K&M.
McCarthy Tire Service has been recognized by readers of the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader in its Best of the Best contest. The company secured gold awards in four categories, including Best Employer, Best Auto Repair, Best Car Wash and Best Auto Detail. Additionally, the company received a silver award in the Best Tire Shop category.
Continental Tire executives talk about the status of the PLT tire market, the company’s strategic balance between OE and replacement tire offerings, and more.
