Officers’ Message

The Heart of a Servant

Every year during our annual conference I am reminded of why I am part of the association and what our association is really about. I always feel our conference brings out the true character of our members and our staff, and this conference was no exception. Sure, it looked different and felt different sitting in my office, but the character was the same. I moderated and sat in on a handful of roundtables and, no matter what the topic was, the discussion always came back to how we can better serve our customer; we talked about going the extra mile, recognizing these are unprecedented times.

And dealers serving dealers, I can’t say enough about that. Through our education and dealer roundtables I have always found our members willing to open up and share ideas and thoughts. This year was certainly no exception. I would hear dealers tell other dealers to stop by their dealerships or come by for a visit so they could show them how they do things at their business. One conversation that struck me was a dealer who basically said, “I am going to tell you a bunch of things not to do, because I know!” It made me laugh, but sometimes that advice is the most valuable.

While I know most of us wanted to have an inperson conference, I met a couple of dealers who were attending their first conference ever. Closing the

by

Eddie Hale

Neighborhood Autos (Decatur) TIADA TREASURER

dealership and traveling to a live conference was just not something they could do in the past, but this virtual option gave them their first opportunity to interact with other dealers, see some great education and visit with vendors they had never seen. They were in awe of the quality of the education and how willing our members would share and try to help. I hope in the future we can find some way to continue serving those dealers who want to participate but can’t attend the inperson conference.

Speaking of our vendors, we usually have over 100 during our live events. This year we had almost 50. I know, I visited every booth. I understand it was just too difficult for some to participate this year, but I noted those who were there, and I can’t thank them enough. These are the companies that get it, they are part of the association and they are also here to serve the association. I strongly encourage every member to reach out to this year’s sponsors, see if their product or service might be right for your dealership and give them a shot at your business.

In a time of such uncertainty, when it seems there are so many people looking for ways to cause problems, I am proud to be a member of TIADA. This conference just reminded me that we still have the heart of a servant.

In a time of such uncertainty, when it seems there are so many people looking for ways to cause problems, I am proud to be a member of TIADA.