Alliance holds winter meetings

John R. Washbish speaks during the Winter Shareholders meeting for the Alliance

The Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance held its annual Winter Shareholders Meeting in Florida recently.

With 500 in attendance at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry in Aventura, Florida, it was the largest gathering of shareholders and channel partners to date.

The December business event included a series of departmental updates, information technology user group workshops, commercial vehicle and heavy-duty sessions, a Latin America shareholder meeting, social mixers, meals and a joint general session for shareholders and channel partners.

It began on December 3 with departmental committee meetings and a series of sessions and roundtables. The evening included a reception event for both shareholder and channel partners.

Monday began with a shareholder-only general session The afternoon included organizational updates on the Federated-Alliance joint venture and a ‘social showcase’ networking mixer with channel partners and shareholder members.

December 5 featured a joint general session with channel partners and shareholder members. The afternoon saw golf, fishing or poker, depending on your tastes. The event wrapped up that night with the annual award banquet for channel partners where Alliance shareholders recognized and awarded suppliers, including the Channel Partner of the Year Award winner, Standard Motor Products.

2023 Alliance Channel Partner of the Year – Standard Motor Products. From left, Justin Hebert, the Alliance, Kyle Sigle, SMP, Paul Farwick, SMP, Fletcher Lord III, Parts Warehouse Inc., Larry Sills, SMP, Fletcher Lord Jr., Parts Warehouse Inc., Jack Ramsey, SMP, Eric Sills, SMP, Dale Burks, SMP, J.C. Washbish, the Alliance

“We are honoured to receive this award, as it speaks to the partnership we have with the Alliance and its shareholder members,” said Eric Sills, CEO at Standard Motor Products. “We pride ourselves on extraordinary customer focus, quality products and service, and we at Standard Motor Products are truly appreciative of the recognition. We look forward to continued success and a strong 2024.”

In a separate announcement for the winner, Justin Hebert, vice president of category management for the Alliance, highlighted his company’s excitement about handing out the award.

“We are thrilled for the Standard Motor Products team,” he said. “What an honour announcing a company like SMP with over 100 years of success as our Channel Partner of the Year. They support the Alliance and our shareholders in every endeavor, with product and inventory, sales and marketing support, technical training, and their efforts with information technology. A sincere congratulations.”

The Channel Partner of the Year award is the most prominent of the Alliance’s channel partner awards and is presented to a supplier who consistently performs with a high level of distinction, maintains exceptional support of the Alliance’s brand strategy, and repeatedly scores high in all award categories.

“The Winter Shareholder Meeting is an opportunity to bring together some of the best in the industry to celebrate a strong 2023, but also focus on business and building for the future,” said John R. Washbish, president and CEO of the Alliance. “This meeting is valued among our shareholder members because of the interaction with their manufacturing business partners. A great way to cap off the end of the year for all of us.