ASA-Arizona Holds Annual Event

A highlight of the Sunrise convention was the presentation of member awards. Pictured (l to r): ASA-Arizona Treasurer Joe Cross presents Kathy Draskovic of Mike's Auto Tech with the "Member of the Year" award and Robert Galler of NAPA with the "Associate of the Year" award.

Sunrise 2004, the annual convention of ASA-Arizona, was held at the Prescott Resort in Prescott, Ariz., July 10-11. The event attracted more than 100 people. Mark Warren, AAM, guest technician, provided an outstanding synopsis of the problems one might have with the operation of an automobile. This was accentuated by the presentation by Craig Van Batenburg, AAM, of "Stress in the Marketplace" and how to overcome the many problems faced by today's shop owner. On Sunday, Marjorie Seyfer, AAM, gave an inspiring talk on "Attitude is Infectious."

In addition to the lineup of instructors, John Scully, AAM, ASA executive vice president; and Pete Hunt, AAM, former affiliate director of ASA-Washington; provided information about ASA and how it functions.

Following the educational programs, the popular "Silent Auction" was held. Proceeds from the auction benefits the ASA-Arizona scholarship fund and helps defray some of the costs in providing the speakers for the event.

A highlight of the evening was the lottery drawing for the grand prize of $4,000. The winning ticket happened to be one of the last tickets sold, which was purchased by a table of attendees at the dinner. Ten lucky $3 investors each received $400 for their investment.

Kathy Draskovic, affiliate treasurer and partner with Mike Draskovic of Mike's Auto Tech, was chosen as the "Member of the Year" for her numerous years of service and tireless work on behalf of the affiliate. Robert Galler of NAPA was awarded "Associate of the Year." Charley Gyder, chairman of Wilhelm Automotive in Peoria, was honored as the second ASA-Arizona "Hall of Fame" winner. Gyder was invaluable during the late 1980s and early 1990s in keeping ASA-Arizona in operation and was responsible for bringing Bill Mason, AAM, executive director, into the fold. "Our congratulations to all our winners, and especially the 10 lucky winners at table 1," said Mason.

ASA-Arizona closed the event with the passing of the chairman's gavel from Bob Schlanger of British Car Service to Bob Jones of Quality Transmission Service Inc., Tempe, Ariz.

ASA-New Orleans to Honor Allied Members

Allied members of the ASA-New Orleans affiliate will be honored at the second annual Allied Member Appreciation Night. The event will be held Oct. 8 at the Quality Hotel and Conference Center in Metairie, La. The evening's activities will include dinner, prizes and an opportunity for members to visit with allied members in a relaxed setting.

"Each allied member is an integral part of our association. We are excited to show our appreciation of their continued support," said Tim Gilthorpe, ASA-New Orleans president.

NATIONAL NEWS

As part of its Strategic Plan, ASA will implement an all-inclusive membership platform. All regular national members will be required to belong to an affiliate if one exists in their area. Likewise, all nonnational regular members, in affiliated areas, will be required to belong to ASA national.

Each member will be billed based on their annual renewal date in 2005. To ease any financial strain, ASA will be implementing a flexible billing program that will enable members to pay for their dues by automatic deduction from their credit card on a quarterly or semiannual basis. Additional information on this new program will be sent this month. This program will allow members ample time to consider this option before receiving their membership dues statement in 2005.