Behind the Wheel

from Texas Dealer October 2020

by Texas Independent Auto Dealers Association

TIADA Auction Directory 2020

The Spotlight

Jeff Martin

TIADA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Is On You

Prior to penning this article, I glanced over the last six or seven years of the October issue of Texas Dealer. It appears, during October, I am usually reminding you that early voting is about to start and that it is important for you to make time and go vote. I then go on to encourage you, no matter what the results of the election are, to go visit with your elected official. During the even number years, I also announce the date of our TIADA Day at the Capitol and beg you to pencil it in on your calendar so you can come to Austin and speak directly to your legislator. If you don’t believe me, and you need a little voter pep talk, you can go to the TIADA website and see every magazine we have printed since 2013.

This year, I figured I would step down from the soapbox and tell you about a new feature you will find in Texas Dealer starting in November. Next month, we will spotlight a dealer one month and the following month we will spotlight a legislator. We have discussed this idea for years in our editorial meetings and just never pulled the trigger. But maybe due to Corona quarantine or COVID confinement, we have missed seeing you at the auctions, chapter meetings, education seminars and legislative luncheons. So, we felt this might be the best time and best way for us to “uncover” what makes our association so special — you and our state leaders.

We will virtually crisscross the state listening and telling the stories of our dealers and policymakers. We will learn more about you and, frankly, the more we learn about you the better job we can do representing your interests.

So far this year, we have quietly welcomed over 200 new members to the association; I look forward to getting to know each of these dealers better and learn what exciting new ideas they have for our industry. We also have so many talented dealers who have been in business for years and who contribute so much to their communities. I look forward to reconnecting with those dealers and seeing how they have been faring during this unprecedented time.

And our legislators. Over the last 15 years we have been committed to building quality relationships with so many of our state representatives and senators. We have become accustomed to spending time with them, getting to know them in their districts and introducing them to our industry during our conference. We don’t want to lose that momentum, so through these spotlights, we will introduce you to the people you elect to represent you and give them an opportunity to stay connected with the used car business in Texas.

Speaking of legislators and, well, voting, early voting starts Tuesday October 13, and election day is on November 3. Of course, if you have been reading Behind the Wheel every October for the last ten years, you already knew that. Make sure you cast your ballot this year, but do not stop there. If you haven’t already, get to know your legislator. And if you want us to feature your legislator in our magazine, shoot us a note and we will do our best to spotlight them in one of our upcoming editions. One last note, we are still trying to work something out, but it’s starting to look like there will be no TIADA Day at the Capitol as we have had in the past. We are looking for all new ways to keep our grassroots lobbying effort moving forward, and we will be featuring some of those meetings in the near future so you can stay involved.