While participating in a past industry meeting, an all too familiar subject stimulated vigorous debate amongst the participants. There were the new eager activists that offered optimism and promised bona fide deliverables, while others whom had long deliberated over the much worn topic were quick to rehash the past obstructions that had prevented a previous resolution. And, of course, there were those who simply wished to escape from underneath the daunting task which lingered overhead and questioned the legitimacy of continued debate, while still others had grown cynical and adopted a sense of hopelessness. After all of the “what if’s” and “why not’s,” enthusiasm eventually won out and a vote in favor of yet one additional attempt at reconciliation triumphed.
The topic, of course, was the deliberation over the Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network and Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week coming together. The enthusiasm resulted in the landmark announcement last month that CVSN would indeed participate in next year’s HDAW.
It finally happened. There will at long last be a coordinated event by both parties that will service the needs of the independent aftermarket and ensure key distributor involvement. It is significant on both a practical and symbolic level, showing that once again it is an ideal time for manufacturers and distributors to work together, better late than never, and proving the adage “that it is always the right time to do the right thing.”
Historically, some of the frustration was fed through perceptions that HDAW mirrored the former CVSN associations’ events, ultimately creating redundancy and the possibility of revenue migration from common supporters and potentially threatening those associations’ charter. The primary difference, however, is that HDAW is an event, one that provides universal deliverables to multiple associations and independents. HDAW never intended to serve as a distributor association but merely as a venue that consolidated time, effort and expense with the hopes that a consortium could provide an elevated conference over any association’s individual curriculum.
It was never a threat to the value of industry associations, as those values can be much different. An association’s value comes from within their membership – key industry activists that serve aftermarket needs and perpetuate change. They are entrepreneurs that bring industry initiatives to reality through the implementation of best practices or political advocacy. Their actions, or lack thereof, can retard or perpetuate industry advancement. Successful associations require strong membership and membership involvement advances the associations’ charters.
The values of CVSN and HDAW are well defined. No one could argue the need to spend more time at our place of business or with our customers. Nor would I think that anyone would deny the value of mass attendance and dialogue for an industry event. This resolution helps us achieve both.
As servants of the industry, all representatives were challenged and key players emerged throughout the discussions and performance analyses. I applaud their efforts. I hope you will join me in supporting this successful outcome by both increasing involvement in your respective associations and by supporting this bigger, better HDAW event. If for no other reason than it is the right thing to do.
Gene Damron, vice president/general manager of Page Brake Warehouse, is the 2006 Truck Parts Distributor Of The Year.
From time to time, Damron will be writing a column for Truck Parts & Service providing information or offering an opinion about what is happening in the heavy-duty aftermarket.
