AAIA Elects New Officers, Board of Directors, Board Chairperson

The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) elected new officers, board of directors of the board at its Spring Volunteer Leadership Days in Hollywood, Fla. on May 6.

Richard Morgan was elected chairman for the AAIA Board of Directors for 2006-2007. He is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

"The backbone of AAIA and the lifeblood of its governance is its volunteer leaders," said Kathleen Schmatz, AAIA president and CEO. "The outstanding individuals who serve on the AAIA board of directors are among the very best visionaries and thought leaders in the aftermarket industry."

AAIA's elected officers of the board of directors are:

· Chairman, Richard Morgan, Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, Inc.
· Vice Chairman, J. David Bell, Erie Drive Train, Inc.
· Vice President, Marc Graham, InstallerEDGE
· Vice President, Jerry O`Pry, Georgia-Pacific Corporation
· Vice President, Gary Perman, RPS Marketing
· Vice President, John Washbish, Affinia Under Vehicle Group
· Treasurer, Timothy Lee, LC Enterprises, LLC
· Secretary, Kenneth Walker, Meineke Car Care Centers
· Past Chairman, David Caracci, Caracci Aftermarket Strategies

Nine other individuals were elected or re-elected to the 31-person AAIA board of directors, including:

· Todd D`Angelo, D`Angelo`s
· Martin Gold, S-G Imported Car Parts
· Kevin Judge, Brenton Productions/Two Guys Garage
· Pam Krebs, Robert Bosch Corporation
· Michael Lambert, Automotive Distribution Network/Parts Plus/IAPA
· Norman Matthew, Custom Accessories
· Bill Murray, Jr., Bill Murray & Associates, Inc.
· Rodney Pierini, California/Nevada Automotive Wholesalers Association
· David Scheer, Inland Truck Parts Co.

Continuing board members are:

· Russ Bailey, AutoVice Consulting
· Larry Easterlin, TCC (Technical Chemical Co.)
· Joseph Felicelli, Federal-Mogul Corporation
· John Flad, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC
· Richard Jago, Old World Industries, Inc.
· Michael Klein, Klein Advisors
· Gary Kremer, Uni-Select USA
· Harold Krivan, J.D. Power and Associates
· David Machamer, Innovative Products, Inc.
· Jon Owens, Babcox Publications
· Joseph Register, Prescient Technologies, Inc.
· Sean Stanic, Siemens VDO Automotive
· Skip West, MAXSA Innovations, LLC

Morgan is a native of Ft. Worth, Texas, with more than 40 years of experience in the automotive aftermarket. He joined General Motors (GM) Corporation and spent more than 21 years at GM with his final position as director of sales and marketing - AC Delco/Europe/Mid East and Africa, living in Antwerp, Belgium. In 1983, Morgan joined Straus Frank Company and spent 12 years there as vice president, general manager of the automotive warehouse division.

"Dick Morgan is an industry icon -- a hard-driving, influential leader with a reputation for getting things done," said Schmatz. "The association is facing a challenging and exciting period; trying to resolve the Right to Repair issue and beginning to battle 15 year/150,000 warranty rules. We look forward to working closely with Dick on these and other burning issues on behalf of our members and the aftermarket industry."

Morgan serves on the board of the Automotive Hall of Fame, board of trustees for the University of the Aftermarket, board of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, TEMOT International and also serves on the Academic Advisory Council of Northwood University. He is the past chairman of the board of governors for the Car Care Council. On Nov. 2, 2003, Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association named him Automotive Leader of the Year.